Avatar: Reawakening
by Private LL Church
Summary: <html><head></head>Two years after the war, a new enemy rises to threaten the balance of the world. However, this new enemy may prove to be more then what Aang and Katara can handle. Multi-chapter. Kataang, Sukka, some Maiko.</html>
1. Chapter 1

**This is an idea I have had for like a year now and I am happy to finally get it down on paper. I picture Aang turning 13 before the end of the series and Katara's birthday being a couple months after the finale so ages are as follows, Katara: 16, Aang: 15, Sokka:17, and the rest of the ages go from there.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar and I probably never will.**

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><p><em><strong>11 years ago<strong>_

Five year old Katara laid down in bed as her mother tucked her in for the night. They were inside their small hut in the Southern Watertribe. Her father, Hakoda, her older brother, Sokka, and her grandmother had gone to bed already; laying a few feet away from where Katara's fur blanket that severed as her bed was located. Like most nights though, Katara and her mother, Kya, stayed up later then the other members of their family; mostly because Katara loved to hear bed time stories. It was a time of night that allowed daughter and mother to bond as Kya told Katara stories of her childhood.

Tonight, Kya had just finished telling the story about the last time the Fire Nation had been to the Southern Water Tribe and how Hakoda, a young boy at the time, had protected her. Normally, Kya didn't tell Katara stories that included the Fire Nation. She believed it best that her daughter grew up away from war and even though the Fire Nation had not attacked their tribe since Kya was just a little over Katara's age, Kya knew the harsh reality that the world was at war and the Fire Nation could strike again at any time. Because of this, she believed that she should expose her to children to stories about the Fire Nation every now and then to make them better prepared should the Fire Nation come again.

As Katara laid in bed, allowing her mother to pull a blanket over her, she reflected on the story she had just heard. She was surprised that the first time her mother had really met her father had been during a Fire Nation raid but that was not what was on her mind. The young girl looked up at her mother questionably "Mommy?"

"What is it sweetie?"

"Why did the Fire Nation start the war?" Katara asked, looking up to her mother for an answer.

Kya looked down at her daughter surprised by the question. Sure, she knew that the question was inevitable if she was going to tell stories that included the Fire Nation, but she wasn't expecting Katara to be asking that at only five years old. Sokka hadn't even asked something like that and he was a year and a half older than his sister. _Then again, _Kya thought, _Katara always had been the more curious one. Sokka has always just accepted things for what they are, no questions asked._

"Well," Kya finally said as she thought about the right words to say to her daughter, "it's complicated…they just believed they had a right to."

"But why?" Katara asked again, "if the world was peaceful before, why would somebody want to start a war? Why wouldn't they just want to have peace?"

The mother sighed, "That is just how some people are, my dear. Some people want power and control and some people just believe that they are better than others," she explained, "no matter what the state of the world is at the time; there will always be that one person that just wants to make a mess of things. That one person that thinks they can rise up above everyone else. That is why the war started. It was just one person's desire to rule the world and unfortunately he was in charge of a nation that would obey his every word."

"I don't understand why someone would do that though," Katara stated, confused at her mother's explanation.

"It is just the way some people are Katara," Kya repeated, "that is all there is to it. It just starts with one person and then that person gains followers.

Katara looked away from her mother as she thought about what her mother had said.

"You don't have to worry about it though," Kya assured kissing her head, "the Fire Nation hasn't attacked the tribe for years. Not since the last Waterbender was taken away."

"But I'm a Waterbender. What if the Fire Nation comes back for me?" Katara said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"They won't," Kya declared, grabbing her daughters hand and squeezing it, "no one outside the tribe knows of your gift and it will stay that way. You have nothing to be afraid of."

The young girl looked up at her mother feeling comforted by her words, "Okay Mommy," and with that she sat up to hug her mother.

Kya smiled, tucking her daughter back into bed, "Good night, my little Waterbender," she said quietly.

Katara felt her mother kiss her forehead before she drifted off to sleep.

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><p><em><strong>Present Day, Nearly 2 years after the war<strong>_

Sixteen year old Katara smiled at the memory that played through her head, but also saddened by thought of her mother, who was murdered years ago. One thing her mother had told her though stood out to her in that memory.

_There will always be that one person…_

The words echoed in her head. It was something that she didn't want to believe. The One Hundred Years War had been over for almost two years now and she didn't like the thought that someone would actually try to destroy the peace that the world had achieved. After travelling the world with Aang though, trying to save the world and seeing all the different kinds of people, she had begun to believe there was actually some truth to her mother's statement. She still found it hard to imagine someone trying to destroy the peace now though.

After the war, people had been very open to the idea of peace. They were tired of war so when the Fire Nation surrendered and rebuilding began, no one really tried to stir things up. Major reconstruction had ended about six months ago and even though there were still things left to be done, they were things that didn't really require the Avatar's help. During the year and a half of reconstruction Katara, along with the rest of the gang, had travelled the world again helping people rebuild. After that was over, the influence of the military that had been running the reconstruction weakened and politics began to take the forefront by making policies and keeping the peace between the nations, and it became quickly apparent to Katara and the gang that they weren't really needed anymore. Despite what they had done during and after the war, they were still just teenagers and they didn't know much about politics to really be helpful. Firelord Zuko had told them that he and the rest of the world's leaders could take it from there, though if help was needed Zuko would contact Aang. So the group began to head back to their homes. Toph had been dropped back off at her parents with the intention of trying to reconnect with them and Suki had been dropped off at Kyoshi Island so she could continue running the Kyoshi Warriors much to Sokka's dismay, but she had told him that when her business at Kyoshi was done she would send him a message to come pick her up again. With that done, the group had just been the original three; Avatar Aang, Katara, and Sokka. They had made their way to the Southern Watertribe in the South Pole and Aang had been living with Katara and Sokka there for the past six months.

All in all, Katara believed that things could get much better, but then why could she not get what her mother said out of her head? Katara couldn't quite place her finger on it but she had a sinking feeling that something was going to happen soon.

"Katara?"

She looked up, coming out of her thoughts, to see Aang and her family, Hakoda, Sokka, Kanna and Kanna's husband Pakku, staring at her. They were in their home, which was quite big since Hakoda was the chief of the tribe. The family had sat down in the family room of the house to have a late night chat with each other but obviously, they had noticed Katara hadn't said much since they were there. Katara's eyes settled on Aang, who had been the one to bring her out of her thoughts.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, "you haven't said anything since we sat down."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, "I'm just thinking".

"About what?" Sokka questioned from his spot in the corner of the room. He was in the corner, and to his left sat, Hakoda, Kanna, and Pakku, and across from them sat Katara with Aang right beside her. There were fur mats distributed across the room to serve as seats.

Katara shrugged, "Just about what has changed in the past two years that's all. It is just hard to imagine how different things are now…especially how different things are here."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Hakoda said joining in on the conversation, "who ever thought that this tribe would grow to become a small city after how damaged it was during the war. It even surprises me sometimes."

"Well, I think we have Pakku to thank for that, "Aang said, smiling a little at his former teacher, "he is the one that brought all the water benders here to fix it in the first place."

All Pakku did to acknowledge Aang's praise was nod a little in Aang's direction but what he said was true. Under Pakku's guidance, the Southern Watertribe had been rebuilt and was now a city, similar to the Nothern Watertribe. Icy Streets ran throughout the area and the homes, which had been small huts and tents when Katara was little, were now bigger homes made out of thick blocks of ice which ironically, helped keep the inside of the homes warm to the point that people no longer needed to wear the big parkas as long as they were indoors. Some of the homes, like Katara's, were even two stories tall. However, these types of homes were usually just for the leaders of the city, which was a group of people that served as councilors for Hakoda. They served to advise him, but he had the final say on matters. If Hakoda had to leave the tribe for political meetings with the other nations the council would run the city by themselves until his return. Needless to say he and his family had the biggest house in the city and they didn't have trouble having their own space. Everyone had their own rooms on the second floor and the first floor housed everything else they needed.

"Yeah," Sokka stated, responding to Aang's previous comment, "if only he had come and fixed it before. Childhood would have been a lot better."

This caused Sokka to receive a few glares from around the table and the room became silent.

"Well," Hakoda said, finally speaking up, "ignoring that comment and speaking about how things have changed, we do have the two year anniversary of the war coming up in three days. The council and I have been putting together a celebration. Just a big party throughout the city, nothing complicated."

"That sounds nice" Katara responded, "Aang and I could help prepare for it over the next couple of days if you need help setting up." Katara then looked to her boyfriend sitting next to her to see if he agreed with the idea.

"I don't mind," he shrugged, "I think it would be nice for the city to celebrate the anniversary. Besides, I like parties."

"What about those parties with all of those politicians?" Katara smiled teasingly.

Aang grimaced, "Oh yeah, I could have done without those. Out of the many that we had to go to, there were probably three that were actually exciting to be at. I am almost willing to say that running from the Fire Nation was more fun than those things."

Katara giggled at his comment, "Well I guess that is what you get when you stick a whole bunch of politicians in a social setting," she then stopped talking, remembering that her dad could be seen as one of those politicians. She turned to look at him and saw him raising an eyebrow at her, "No offence dad."

"None taken," Hakoda laughed, "I could almost agree with you two."

"Well," Aang said, "let's just make sure that we will do this party right."

"You don't have to worry about that Aang," Hakoda said, "most of the planning for it is already done; we just have to put it together. The council has already managed to get some volunteers to help set it up so if you and Katara would just like to relax the next few days, we can take care of the party."

Aang and Katara looked at each other, "You sure Dad?" Katara asked, "Aang and I really don't mind helping."

"I'm sure. You two deserve some rest. You ended the war. Let us worry about the celebrating."

"Well, on that note," Pakku interjected, "Kanna and I are turning in for the night. We're getting tired and it's late."

After exchanging 'good nights' with everyone he and Kanna left the room and began to head back to their house, which was neighboring Hakoda's home.

Sokka yawned tiredly and he got up and began to walk over to the stairs that would eventually lead to his room, "I am going to go ahead and follow their example. See you guys in the morning."

This left Hakoda, Katara, and Aang in the room and the three glanced at one another.

"So you sure you don't need help?" Aang asked Hakoda, restarting their previous conversation.

"Trust me Aang, you and my daughter just spend some time with each other," Hakoda answered, before adding teasingly, "besides, we all know how you can get when it comes to helping out. I don't think Katara would appreciate it much if you forgot about her again."

Aang blushed as Katara giggled at her father's comment. When they had first arrived at the South Pole and introduced Aang as her boyfriend, he had been very nervous. So much so that he had insisted on helping out her family with every little thing as he tried to impress them. This had him working all day and it got to the point where he was pretty much ignoring her, spending all his time with the rest of the family. This whole fiasco finally ended when Kanna sat Aang down and told him that he doesn't need to try to impress them for them to accept him as Katara's boyfriend. Kanna had finished that conversation by telling Aang that she better not see him neglecting Katara again, and since then Aang had been very successful at giving Katara all of his attention, much to his girlfriend's enjoyment. Still, the whole situation was something that the family never let Aang forget.

"Is anyone ever going to let me forget that," Aang sighed, finally responding to the watertribe chief's comment.

"What would be the fun of that?" Katara teased before leaning over to whisper in Aang's ear, "between you and me though, I would say you have more than made up for it." She kissed his cheek.

Hakoda smiled at the exchange, happy to know that his daughter had found someone that she was happy with and he supported them as much as he could. "Well I think I am going to follow everyone else and head to bed. I will see you two in the morning. Good night."

"Good night Dad," Katara told him as she watched him go up the stairs to his room.

Once they were alone, Aang looked at his girlfriend, remembering her quietness from before and decided to bring it up, "Are you sure you're okay? You looked worried about something."

Katara looked back at him with a confused look on her face, "What?"

"Earlier," he explained, "when you said you were just thinking about how things have changed. I just thought that you looked worried about something."

"Oh," Katara said, learning her head on his shoulder, "I was just thinking about what my mother once told me. Don't worry about it."

Aang wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him, "Katara, you should know by now that if something worries you then it makes me worry."

"Well you don't have to worry about this though okay. It was just something that crossed my mind, nothing more."

"You sure?" he moved to her front and gazed at her skeptically. She seemed like she was trying to reassure herself, "you seem a little unsure about that."

Katara sighed, remembering the feeling she had that something bad was going to happen. She pulled Aang into an embrace and wrapped her arms around him while resting her head on his shoulder trying to find a little comfort, "I just…you don't think anyone will try something do you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his arms wrapped around her.

"I mean, you don't think someone will try to destroy the peace that we made…right?"

Aang pulled away from her to look her in the eye, "Is that what you are worried about? Katara, I think if someone was going to try something, they would have done it by now."

Katara gently bit her bottom lip nervously, "I…I just have this feeling that something is going to happen, you know? I can't help but think that it will true."

"Katara…" Aang began pulling her to his chest, letting her rest her head there as he held her in his arms. He rested his head on top of hers before continuing, "I know that it is hard to forget what we went thought during the war but that is over now. We won, and everything is fine. Do you really think that after one hundred years of war, someone will actually try to start another one?"

She smiled against his chest, "No I guess not…but still."

"Just don't worry about it okay?" he told her, kissing the top of her head.

She just nodded against his chest as she snuggled closer to him.

The couple sat there for a while holding each other as Aang rocked her gently back and forth, but eventually they both became tired and decided that they should head up to their respective rooms. Aang stood up, grabbing Katara's hand as he helped her to stand up next to him. The young Avatar walked her to her room like he often did, and stood by her bedside as she lay down and pulled the covers over herself. He bent down to kiss her lips gently, "Good night, love you."

"Love you to," she whispered tiredly.

Aang turned to leave her room to head to his own room when he heard her voice from behind.

"Aang?"

He turned back to face her from his spot in the doorway.

"Tomorrow," she continued, "let's take Appa to go flying for a bit. Just you and me, okay?

Aang smiled at her. Katara and him often took the bison out flying every few days to keep him company and they later found out that Appa didn't mind if they had some alone time on his saddle. It gave the couple some much needed alone time away from Sokka's watchful gaze, so either one of them always jumped right on the idea if one of them suggested to go flying.

"Looking forward to it," he told her as he turned back to head for his room.

Katara smiled, knowing the following day would be a good one, and all thoughts of her previous worries gone from her mind.

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><p><strong>Hope you all like it so far. I will probably do weekly updates for this, but I may update a little more then that depending on how much time I have to write. I will at LEAST do weekly updates though.<strong>


	2. Ch 2: Preparations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

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><p>Katara awoke early, ready to begin the new day. She was always excited to go flying on Appa alone with Aang and today was no exception.<p>

The watertribe girl climbed out of bed, wearing only her bindings, and went to her closet to pick out her traditional watertribe clothing to wear. Her closet held her other cloths like her Fire Nation outfit and her green robe she got in Ba Sing Se at the end of the war, but the Fire Nation one felt a little out of place to be worn in the South Pole and the Ba Sing Se one…she only liked to wear that for special occasions. _Maybe I should wear that for the party. Aang likes it, _Katara thought, _or maybe I should go out shopping for something else, something a little more fitting for the watertribe. _Putting on her outfit, she made a mental note to go shopping for a new dress sometime before the party that would take place in a few days.

Once she was all dressed, Katara opened her door leading out to the hallway and walked across the hall to Aang's room. She slowly opened his door and walked in to see that he was still asleep; lying on his back and as always, he only had his underwear on. She was a little embarrassed to admit it but she knew that when he was lying on his back that meant that he would be up soon. _So what if I have watched him sleep a few times. I was just looking out for him that's all. Nothing more, _she told herself, though she knew that if someone had found out about the nights that she would stay up watching him sleep, she would never hear the end of it.

Coming out of her thoughts, Katara walked over and climbed on her boyfriend's bed.

"Aang," she said tapping his nose with her finger, "Aang, wake up."

The only thing that accomplished though was to make the air bender grunt softly before his hand reached up to rub his nose briefly.

Katara frowned, a little annoyed that he wouldn't wake, but that soon turned into a smile when she climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. She leaned down and kissed his lips causing the boy to shift a little bit under her. He eventually began to wake up, feeling someone's lips against his.

"Huh, what," Aang said as he pulled back and saw his girlfriend on top of him, "Katara?"

"Get up sleepyhead," the girl said, leaning over him and placing her hand on his shoulders to support herself, "let's go get Appa."

"Katara, it's still early…"

"No its not," she cut him off, poking the tip of the arrow on his head, "you are just being lazy."

"I am not!"

"You are to," Katara retorted, "you've been getting lazier ever since we arrived at the South Pole."

Aang thought back on the past six months and to his surprise, she was right. He hadn't noticed it but thinking back, he had become pretty lazy. Though he was still energetic during the day, he slept in later, lounged around more, and he even realized that he had began eating more to. _That's going to have to change_, he told himself, _might as well start now._

"Well," he said, smiling at the girl on top of him, "maybe if there was something to wake me up a little more…I could get out of bed earlier."

"Oh," Katara teased, slowly moving her head towards his so their lips we're just a few inches away from each other, "you mean something like this." She brought her lips down on his briefly, giving him a small taste of her before pulling back.

"Yeah," Aang smiled dreamily, "something like that." He put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her back down to him and began kissing her eagerly.

Katara giggled softly against his lips at his reaction as her hands began to run along his bare chest. When his hands wrapped tighter around her and began to rub her back, she squeezed his sides with her legs, earning a groan from him. The hands that were rubbing her back started to drift a little lower but before they could reach their intended target Katara broke away and hopped off Aang's bed.

Aang, feeling the loss of contact, opened his eyes and sat up to see Katara standing beside his bed grinning at him.

"You awake now?" she asked, the grin never leaving her face.

"Kataraaa," Aang whined, his voice filled with disappointment, "I was just starting to get into it."

Katara laughed, "Well don't worry Aang. I am sure there will be plenty more of that later," she winked at him before turning to pull some traditional water tribe cloths out of his closet. She had gotten the clothes for him when they first arrived at the South Pole. They weren't anything expensive, just something similar to Sokka's clothing. "Get dressed and let's go," she commanded, throwing the cloths at the boy who was still sitting up on the bed.

Aang caught them and got out of bed and began to get dressed. The couple had long gotten passed being embarrassed of being half naked around each other. Sure, they had never seen each other naked before, but the awkwardness that plagued the beginnings of their relationship when it came to getting dressed or undressing down to their undergarments in front of each other had long since ended. As it was now, Katara just stood there and admired him.

Once Aang was finished putting his cloths on he turned to see Katara staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing," she responded as she walked towards him, taking his hand in hers, "Ready to go?"

"Always."

Katara led him out of the room glancing at him, "I would believe that if you hadn't been complaining about getting out of bed just five minutes ago."

Aang only just looked at the ground dejectedly causing Katara to laugh as they walked down the stairs and headed for the door that would lead them outside. However, just as Katara opened the door she heard a voice from behind her.

"And just where do you think you two are going?"

The couple turned to find Sokka staring at them. Hakoda was sitting next to him and it appeared that they had just finished eating breakfast.

"We're just going to go fly Appa," Aang explained to Sokka.

"Oh, is that all?"

"Yeah," Katara interjected, "Why? You have a problem with that."

"As a matter of fact I-," Sokka paused, _I could either let them go and do there kissing thing on Appa or they can stay here where I have to watch_, "no I don't mind. Just don't do anything you shouldn't be doing."

"Yes Dad," Katara said sarcastically, "we know."

Sokka frowned at his sister when their real dad stood up and carried a bag over to the couple.

"Take this," Hakoda handed the bag to Aang, "you two haven't had breakfast yet. There is some food in there, and as always Aang, there is some vegetarian food for you."

"Thanks Hakoda," Aang responded gratefully.

"Don't mention it," the water tribe chief smiled, "you two just go have fun."

With that Katara eagerly pulled her boyfriend out the door after giving her dad a 'thank you', which left Hakoda and Sokka alone in the room. Sokka sighed.

"What is it?" his father asked turning to him.

"Oh nothing," Sokka groaned, "it's just that Aang and Katara are doing their thing, you're doing your thing, and I am just left here with nothing to do…I miss Suki."

Hakoda looked sympathetically at his son. He knew he missed his girlfriend and Hakoda had been trying to keep Sokka busy to get his mind off her, but it still bothered his son every now and then. "You know, she will probably be ready for you to come and get her soon."

"Yeah I know," Sokka admitted.

"Well in the mean time, would you like to help set up for the anniversary. We could use an extra hand," Hakoda offered.

"Oh, so Katara and Aang can just relax and make out the next few days but I have to work and set up a celebration throughout the whole city?" Sokka complained.

"I never said you had to," Hakoda smiled.

Sokka remained quiet thinking; _do I really have anything else better to do?_"Yeah, okay I'll help," he finally said.

"Well follow me then, I will show you what you have to do."

With that father and son walked out the same entrance Aang and Katara had minutes before and went to go begin preparations with the rest of the volunteers.

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><p>Appa's head perked up when he heard the sound of laughter. He looked to see Aang and Katara heading towards him while they talked and apparently it was about something they found funny. He also noticed that his master was caring some bag over his shoulder. The sky bison slowly stood up from the shelter, built for him by Aang on the outskirts of the city, and walked out to greet the couple with a gently roar. Momo, who had been sleeping on the bison's head, woke up from the movement and flew up onto Aang's shoulder.<p>

"Hey Momo," Aang greeted scratching the lemurs ear, "how are you doing?"

The lemur simply made a few chattering sounds in response to the question before flying off to look for Sokka, something he always did when Aang and Katara had their alone time on Appa. The bison was able to ignore the couple because he wasn't able to see anything on the saddle. Momo though, didn't have that luxury. It was either stay near them or go to find Sokka, and the lemur chose Sokka every time.

The couple watched Momo go as they walked closer to Appa.

Aang smiled, patting his animal guide on the nose, "Hey boy, ready to go flying?"

Appa responded with a small grunt before lying down to make it easier for the couple to climb on.

Aang picked up Katara and air bent them on to the saddle before stetting her back down.

"I'll be right back," he told her, as he dropped down onto the bison's head. "Yip yip."

Appa swiftly took to the sky, loving the feel of the air rushing past him as Aang guided the bison to fly high above the city.

"You know what to do right boy?" Aang asked patting the bison's head, "just no sharp movements okay?"

The bison grunted in response which Aang took as a yes. When they got high enough in the air, the airbender jumped back up to the saddle where his girlfriend was no doubt waiting for him. As it turned out, she was taking their food out of the bag that her father had given them.

Katara smiled when she saw Aang hop back up, "Here is your food," she said, handing him a smaller bag of vegetables.

Aang took the bag from her smiling and sat down beside her as she pulled out a second bag of vegetarian food.

"You know," he said as he started to eat his meal, "you can eat meat around me…I don't mind. Just because I am a vegetarian doesn't mean you have to be."

"I know but sometimes I can't help it. Besides, I like your vegetarian food," Katara smiled at him.

"Did your dad even pack any meat in there?"

Katara looked into the bigger bag which was now empty, "No, I guess he knew that I wouldn't want any meat. Don't worry about it Aang, really."

"I'm not worrying," the monk responded, scooting a little closer to her so their sides were touching, "I'm just making sure that you got what you wanted to eat that's all."

"Oh, is that what you were doing?"

Aang simply nodded at her.

She shook her head laughing a little, "If you say so."

After that, the couple ate the rest of their meal in silence, just enjoying each other's company. When they finished they tossed the bags to the other side of the saddle before Aang pulled Katara eagerly into his arms.

Katara smiled at him before shifting so she lay on top of him, putting them in a similar position that they were in when she woke him up earlier.

"So is this where you are going to make it up to me for the teasing earlier?" Aang asked, grinning up at her.

"Yeah," Katara said gently moving her head closer to his, "something like that."

When their lips were just inches apart, their smiles faded and they grew serious. Their lips connected softly as the kiss started out slow, both of them enjoying the feeling of the other. Katara pressed her body closer to his while cupping his face in her hands, lightly stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. He tightened his grip on her, as he moved his tongue to lick her lips. Katara's lips parted slowly, granting him entrance as his tongue slipped inside of her. He explored the insides of her mouth, causing her to whimper softly at the feeling. Her hands moved to hold the back of his head, not wanting him to stop what he was doing while Aang's hands began to stroke her back as his girlfriend moaned softly in his arms. Wanting to hear more of her, he moved his hand down her back and gave her butt a gentle squeeze. Katara gasped pulling away a little as her breathing quickened.

"You've been waiting to do that all morning haven't you?" she breathed heavily against lips.

"I-is that okay?" Aang asked moving his hand off her butt, thinking it made her uncomfortable since she pulled away. Though he had tried it earlier, touching her there was something he hadn't done before and he began to regret doing it. However, she quickly reached back to grab his hand and placed it back where it had been.

"It's okay," she said, a blush rising to her tan cheeks, "I actually kind of liked it…don't stop…please."

Aang looked into his girlfriend's pleading eyes before pulling her back down into a kiss. Katara gave out more soft moans when his hand began to rub her butt and she had to pull away again to breath. She nuzzled her head against his shoulder as she tried to control her breathing, which was hard since Aang hadn't stopped what he was doing. Katara wrapped her arms tightly around him as she moved her head up to kiss his cheek and from there, she planted kisses down to the base of his neck where she began to suck on the skin there. Aang groaned softly, his hand tightening on her butt causing the girl to produce her own groan.

"Katara..." Aang whispered lovingly, kiss the side of her head, "I love you."

Katara stopped what she was doing to look him in the eye, "I love you to…so much," she brought her head down to kiss him again.

They continued for a few more minutes before Katara rolled off of him gasping for air. The two benders laid side by side, their breathing heavy, but neither of them cared. Katara glanced at her boyfriend and took his hand in hers causing Aang to look at her as he stroked her hand with the back of his thumb.

"I think you made up for the teasing," he smiled.

Katara giggled a little before resting her head on his chest, "Mmhmm, that was nice," she said, as she felt her arms wrap around her, "Sokka would have killed you though if he saw where your hand was."

"I guess it's a good thing he's not here then," Aang kissed the top of her head, "it didn't make you uncomfortable did it?"

"I told you I like it," she closed her eyes, feeling his heart beating a little quicker than normal, "I wouldn't mind you doing it again. In fact…I might just encourage it."

"Really now?" he said, shifting so that he was on top of her.

"Yeah."

"Well we don't have to be back for another hour or so," Aang grinned down at her, "Do you-"

Katara silenced him with another kiss.

* * *

><p>Sokka groaned as he carried chairs into the building that would hold the dining area for the big party. The building was massive, built specifically for occasions like this. It was simple though, just a big empty room but now it was filled with hundreds of chairs and dozens of tables to accommodate the small city of people it was going to hold. Sokka was just carrying in the last of the seats when he saw his father walk over to him.<p>

"Great job Sokka, I wasn't expecting you to be done so fast with the amount of complaining you did when I brought you here."

"Eh," Sokka said, gesturing over to a whole bunch of other people who were setting up the room as well, before he placed his pile of chairs down on the icy floor, "they did most of the work. This is actually only the second load I have carried in."

"Yeah, I thought so," Hakoda laughed, "You have never liked this kind of work have you?"

Sokka shrugged, "You know me. I like the warrior stuff."

"Well even so, a warrior has to do other work sometimes. It is just not about the hunting and fighting," Hakoda told his son, who nodded his head in response, "…so if you are up to it, the people setting up the ball room could use an extra hand."

"I thought you already had people doing that?" Sokka question, remembering what his father had told him earlier when he was explaining what needed to be set up.

"I do, but they could use some more help. It covers a big area…it's almost as big as this building," Hakoda explained.

"Why would we need a dancing room to cover a big area? You really don't think that the whole city would just get up and dance all at the same time do you?"

"No I don't," Hakoda smiled, "I told you, we are setting up a parade as well as some games for the kids…people will have plenty of other things to do. But this is a small city we are talking about, so it would just be safer to make sure each area is big enough."

"Okay fine, I'll help…again," Sokka began to walk away before turning back to Hakoda, "uh, where is it being set up?"

"It's just across the street," Hakoda said before adding teasingly, "even you can't miss it."

"Ha ha, very funny," Sokka smiled, before turning to leave.

"Oh, and Sokka?"

Sokka once again turned around to face his father.

"Try to do a little more than observing people setting up this time, will you?"

Sokka rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay Dad," he said, before leaving to help set up the ballroom, surprised when all of the sudden Momo came out of nowhere and landed on his shoulder.

Hakoda smiled as he watched his son say something to the animal and shook his head, before turning to walk back towards the council chambers at the center of the city to finalize some of the last preparations so everyone would know what to do for the next two days as they helped set up for the celebration.

For the rest of the day and the day after, that was how things went. Aang and Katara spent time together, though they did help Sokka set up the ballroom since they knew they would be using it. Sokka continued helping to prepare for the celebration, and Hakoda and the council monitored the situation.

Finally, it was the day before the big party would take place and Katara decided that if she was going to buy a new dress she had to do it today. Having just gotten dressed, she walked downstairs to see that everyone else was already eating breakfast at the kitchen table.

Aang smiled when he saw her come down and quickly got up to get another seat for her to sit in. She thanked him as she sat down on the seat that was placed next to his.

"So what are we doing today?" she asked as Aang handed her some breakfast.

Aang sat down next to her, "That is actually what we were just talking about."

"Most of the preparations are complete," Hakoda explained to his daughter, "we are just finalizing some of the details. You all are free to do whatever you want."

"Like those two weren't free to do that before," Sokka murmured.

Hakoda turned to his son, " 'You all' included you to Sokka."

"Yeah I know, I am just saying that today probably won't be much different for them then the past two days were," said Sokka.

"Hey," Katara said defensively, "Aang and I helped out a little bit."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed, "that is after you guys spent hours on Appa and who knows where else."

"Well if it makes you feel any better," Aang said, trying to get off the subject of what he and Katara had been doing, "I think we could help out a little more today with the finali-"

"Actually," Katara cut in, "I was going to go shopping for a new dress to wear to the party tomorrow.

"Really?" Aang turned to look at her, _I always liked seeing her in a new outfit, _"Can I come with you?"

"You would do that," Sokka grumbled before Katara could answer.

Katara glared at her brother for a second before turning back to Aang, "Sure, I could use some company," she said, seeing Aang smile at her answer, "but you aren't seeing the dress until tomorrow."

Aang's smile instantly fell, "Why?" he complained.

"Aang, you know I like to surprise you with these things. You know I don't like showing you before I am ready," Katara smiled at him.

"But can I at least have a quick peek at it when you get it?"

"Nope."

Aang sat back and crossed his arms with a pouting expression on his face which made Katara giggle.

"Let's just go," Aang got up and grabbed her hand pulling her out the door.

Hakoda and Sokka watched them go before Hakoda stood up and left as well leaving Sokka alone.

Sokka sat there for a couple minutes deciding what to do. _Better just go find Katara and Aang. Probably just should have gone with them to begin with. _Sokka got up to go find them, praying that they wouldn't be in some alleyway kissing when he did.

Ten minutes after leaving the house, Aang and Katara walked hand in hand through the marketplace when Katara finally spotted the store she was looking for. They walked up to the entrance when Katara let go of his hand.

"Wait here Aang," she told him, "I'll be back in a bit."

"Why can't I come in with you?"

"Because then you will see the dress I picked out. You aren't seeing it till tomorrow Avatar," she teased before kissing his cheek, "I promise I won't be too long."

With that she walked inside leaving Aang to lean against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched the other mingling shoppers.

"Aang! Aang!"

The Avatar looked up at the sound of his name and he saw Sokka searching for him in a crowd of people. Aang pushed himself off the building, standing up strait and waved at his friend. Sokka eventually spotted him and he walked over to where Aang was standing.

"It's about time I found you…wait. Where's Katara?" Sokka said eyeing the boy in front of him.

"She's in there," Aang said jerking his thumb towards the entrance, "looking for a dress."

"And she said you couldn't come in," Sokka laughed.

"Yeah," he leaned back against the wall arms folded.

"She really is persistent when it comes to hiding her dresses isn't she?"

"Tell me about it," Aang mumbled but then he perked up as he thought of an idea.

"What is it?" Sokka asked raising an eyebrow.

Instead of answering, Aang jumped up to a window a few feet above him and peaked in, trying to find Katara. Sure enough he saw her. Her back was turned to him and she appeared to be looking at a row of dresses that seemed to peak her interest. But from his angle though, he couldn't see what the dresses looked like. However, she eventually turned around and saw him looking at her though the window. Aang could see her giggle quietly as she winked at him before she turned back to do her shopping, heading for another section of the store where she was unable to be seen. Aang groaned and jumped down a little annoyed he had been caught.

"You know," Sokka said next to him, "if you're going to try to spy on someone, you might want to learn how to do it first."

"Oh, yeah," Aang countered, "let's see you do it then."

Sokka glanced up at the window that Aang had looked through and then glanced back at Aang, "I don't think I can jump that high."

Aang just smiled triumphantly as the two sat down to wait for Katara.

A few minutes later, she walked out holding a bag in her hand that no doubt held her new dress. "Hey, when did you get here Sokka?" she asked.

"Right after you left Aang out here, I decided to give him some company," her brother responded, not getting up.

Katara nodded, "Oh and Aang?" she said, seeing her boyfriend look up to her from his spot on the ground, "nice try by the way," she winked at him, no doubt referring to his attempt to spy on her.

Aang rolled his eyes and stood up, walking over to her, "Did you get it?" he asked kissing her cheek, which was meant to be a cover up as he glanced down to look into her bag.

However Katara, seeing what he was trying to do, pulled the bag away from his curious eyes. "Yes I did," she grinned, grabbing his hand as she led him back to their home laughing while Aang pouted next to her.

"They're hopeless," Sokka said shaking his head at the couple's antics before standing up to follow them.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Katara sat up in her bed gasping as she looked around the room. <em>It was just a dream , <em>she thought, _just a dream. _Katara hugged her knees to her chest.

The dream was more of a nightmare. She had been in some Earth Kingdom town, but the town had looked deserted. She had thought she was alone when she heard a high pitched screeching noise above her and she had looked up to see what it was. She couldn't quite make out what it was though. From what she could tell, it was just a black figure that had a ghostly appearance. She saw red eyes stare down at her and next thing she knew the thing had swooped down into her and she felt a terrible pain inside of her which had woke her up.

Katara clutched her stomach as she remembered the feeling. In her dream, it felt as though something had been ripping her apart and that feeling was gone know but she still didn't know what to make of it. That thing obviously wasn't human; she didn't know what it was. The nightmare though had still managed to make the words of her mother come back into her thoughts.

_There will always be that one person._

Katara laid back down to try to get back to sleep as she tried to ignore the words that echoed in her head.

_That one person that just wants to make a mess of things._

Katara tossed and turned in her bed. _No one will try anything, _she told herself_, Aang was right, he always is, nothing is going to happen, _but the words continued to play through her head.

_That one person that thinks they can rise up above everyone else._

She turned to bury her head in the pillow in frustration.

_There will ALWAYS be that one person._

_Always. _Her mind focused on that world. _Always. _That meant even now, even with all the peace, someone was probably out there planning on destroying it. Katara sat back up, she couldn't go back to sleep, not alone like this, not when these thoughts were on her mind and she had nothing to distract her from them.

She got out of bed to head to the one person that could calm her down. She briefly thought about putting on a night robe as she knew it could get cold when walking around at night with only her bindings on but where she was going, she was sure she wouldn't have to worry about cold.

Katara slowly walked into Aang's room and walked over to his bed to shake him awake.

"Katara?" He sat up tiredly, "What's wrong?"

"I just had a nightmare and I couldn't go back to sleep," Katara told him softly, her eyes pleading him to allow her to stay with him.

Aang saw the look in her eye and he scooted over to let her sit on his bed next to him. They sat facing each other, but Katara didn't meet his eyes. Instead she was looking down at the space between them, lost in her thoughts.

Aang reached over to take her hands in his, causing her to look up at him and into his eyes, "Katara," he said gently, "What is it? I have seen you after you have had nightmares before and you never are this deep in thought about it. What else is wrong?"

"Remember," Katara paused, biting her lip, "remember a few days ago and I was worried about someone coming and trying to break the peace?"

"Is that what this is about? Katara you don't need to worry about that."

"I just can't help it Aang. My nightmare reminded me of it and now I can't get the thoughts out of my head, "she cried, a few tears falling from her eyes, "I can't stop thinking about it, it's driving me crazy."

Aang reached forward to wipe the tears from her eyes before pulling her into an embrace. "Maybe you are just thinking about it because of the anniversary tomorrow?" he suggested, rubbing her back, "Maybe the thought of that is making you think things are going to go wrong again? You haven't had these thought's before have you."

"No," she whispered into his shoulder.

They remained silent for a few moments, holding each other until Aang spoke again, "What was your nightmare about?"

Katara sighed, "I was just in some abandoned Earth Kingdom town and there was some dark figure above me. Next thing I knew, I felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside…that's all I can really say…I don't know what it was exactly. It just scared me so much that it reminded me of what I had been worried about a few days ago."

Aang laid them down on his bed as he thought about what she had told him. He didn't think it could be a vision, as far as he knew only Avatars had those; but he had to admit it was a little strange that Katara would have a dream about something she had never seen or heard of before. Aang shifted so he lay on his back, allowing Katara to rest comfortably on top of him which was already beginning to make her feel better. "It was probably just a nightmare Katara," Aang finally said, "There is probably nothing more to it. Just let me know if you dream about something like that again ok?"

Katara nodded, nuzzling her head against his shoulder as she stretched out on top of him. She felt the thoughts of her nightmare and her worries drift from her mind like they did a few nights ago as she focused on the feeling of their bare stomachs pressing together and the feeling of their legs against each other. Her hands rested on his sides as Aang wrapped his arms around the girl on top of him. One of his hands rested on the small of her back enjoying the feel of her soft skin and the other hand found its way into her hair, as he played with it; twirling it, brushing it, and just simply enjoying the soft feeling of her hair. Katara must have been enjoying the attention to because her hands that had been gripping him rather tightly, loosened up as her breathing evened out and he knew that she was already fast asleep. Aang kissed the top of her head, causing her to murmur something as she slept. He smiled; resting his head back on the pillow and quickly falling asleep with the love of his life held protectively in his arms.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed it!<strong>


	3. Ch 3: Celebrations

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>Aang woke up early the next morning, feeling something on top of him. He opened his eyes to see what it was and saw Katara sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face as he remembered that she had come into his room the night before. He simply laid there and held her while he stroked her hair, not wanting to wake her up just yet. She deserved some rest and besides, he didn't have the heart to wake her up when she looked as happy and as peaceful as she did right now.<p>

Aang started to think about what they had talked about last night. Truth be told, he was a little worried about her. He could tell that she really was a little scared that someone will come and destroy the peace that they had worked so hard to achieve. Aang knew the world was a little unstable but most of the hard stuff had passed by now. If someone was planning something, why would they wait this long to do it? Wouldn't it have been easier to strike when the world had still been busy devoting all its resources to reconstruction? However, Aang knew Katara, and she would not have come to him in the middle of the night over some childish fear. This was something that she was afraid of and Aang promised himself that he will try to find any information he could to help destroy that fear. While he realized he couldn't do this within the next few days because of the anniversary and its aftermath, which was sure to be hectic with cleanup, Aang made a mental note to himself that he would pay Roku a visit as soon as there was a day that he had a lot of free time on him. Roku would probably have an idea if there is anything going on in other parts of the world.

Coming out of his thoughts, the young Avatar felt his girlfriend shift a little in his arms and next thing he knew, he saw her beautiful blue eyes looking up at him from her spot on his chest.

"Hey," Aang greeted softly, reaching his hand up to stroke the side of her face.

"Hey," she whispered back as she leaned into his touch.

"Sleep well?"

Katara nodded, getting off of him, allowing him to sit up next to her, "Better than I have in a while actually," the girl said, before she noticed the bright light from the sun's rays shining throughout the room, "How late did we sleep in?"

"Mmm…I am not sure actually," Aang hadn't remembered it being this bright when he first woke up. _I didn't just sit here and hold her that long did I?_

"What do you mean you are not sure? You were up before me weren't you? Haven't you figured out what time it is yet?" she smiled and raised her eyebrow at him.

"Well…yeah, but," Aang said, "I don't remember it being this bright when I woke up."

"Wait, that means that you have been up for a while then…what were you doing?"

"I…well…I may have sat there watching you sleep for a couple hours, "Aang admitted, his cheeks turning red, "…I must not have noticed how much time went by."

Katara blushed when she heard his answer; _I guess I am not the only one that does that, _she thought with relief, before she glanced at her boyfriend shyly, "Did you really do that?"

"Well you looked so peaceful and comfortable and I didn't have the heart to wake you up," he smiled at her affectionately, taking her hands in his, "I love you Katara, and I like to know that you are happy. I don't mind just holding you for a few hours to accomplish that."

Katara smiled and leaned forward to peck him on the lips, "That's really sweet Aang, "she told him, "and if it makes you feel better…I have watched you sleep before, "she paused a little before adding, "several times."

"You have?" Aang questioned, his eyes staring at the girl in front of him.

Katara nodded and looked away a little self consciously thinking that he would find it a little weird. However, she felt his hand cup her cheek and he turned her head back to face him, pressing his lips to hers softly. Katara leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him as he broke away and rested his forehead against hers.

"Katara," he whispered, "You're amazing you know that. You don't have to be embarrassed."

"You don't find it weird?" she looked into his eyes.

"Of course not, you're looking out for me, and that means more to me then you know," he held her tighter.

"I just do it because I love you," she kissed him lightly, "I just like making sure you're okay. Ever since Azula…"she trailed off and pulled away from him, her eyes staring down at the bed.

Aang pulled he back into an embrace, "It's okay Katara, I'm here now and that is what matters," he whispered into her ear before nibbling on it gently, causing her to shiver, "I'm not going anywhere."

It was then that Katara pulled him into another kiss, wanting him close to her but before they could get far into it, they heard Sokka's voice in the hall outside the door.

"Katara where are you?"

The two benders looked at each other, realizing that Sokka had checked Katara's room and that he would no doubt be checking Aang's room next. They put a few feet of space between them and sure enough, Sokka opened the door seconds later.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Sokka said a little irritated as he stood in the doorway looking at the couple sitting on the bed.

"Nothing Sokka," Aang assured him calmly, "Katara just had a nightmare and she stayed with me for the night. We didn't do anything."

Sokka looked at his sister questionably, "Oh yeah, then why are you two in your underwear?"

"Sokka," Katara sighed, annoyed, "That is how we typically sleep. You know that."

Sokka sighed, he knew. As long as they weren't camping out in the wilderness, they all often slept in their underwear. "If you were going to sleep together though, could you have at least put a night robe on?"

"No," Katara smirked, leaning back on her hands, "Don't even try arguing Sokka. We all know what you and Suki used to do in your free time. You're being a hypocrite."

Sokka stared her down before he sighed again, giving up, "Yeah well…ugh, I just don't want to know about it next time okay?"

"Well, "Aang smiled at him, "If you learned to knock like most people then maybe you wouldn't have found out."

"Okay, really Aang, "Sokka deadpanned, glaring at the monk, "Katara doesn't need any help."

"Why were you looking for me anyway?" Katara asked.

Sokka looked back at her, "Well I just thought that since the party will be starting in a few hours, you would like to start getting ready for it…though I guess you are too busy doing something else," Sokka finished, glancing at Aang briefly.

"Wait," Katara said, ignoring the last part of her brother's comment, "Did you say the party starts in a few hours? I thought it wasn't supposed to start until a little bit before dinner time."

"I am not sure if you noticed Katara, but it's a little after noon now."

"We slept in that long?" Aang asked Sokka, glancing at his girlfriend and Katara glanced back at him a little shocked.

"Yep you did," Sokka smirked, "Congratulations." With that he walked out into the room.

Aang and Katara sat in silence for a few moments.

"I can't believe we slept in that long," Katara stated.

"Me either."

Katara got up, "I better go get ready," she said glancing at Aang with a teasing smile on her face, "I want to make sure that dress looks good."

Aang's eyes widened, "I get to see that today don't I?" he gasped excitedly.

Katara giggled, "In just a few short hours," she told him. She walked up to kiss him on his cheek before heading back to her room.

Aang sat on his bed for a little while longer; thinking about what Katara would look like. After all of his failed attempts the day before, he will finally be able to see Katara in her new outfit. The thought made him smile and Aang happily got up and went to get ready himself, eager for the night that was to come.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, the sun began to set, signaling that the party would start soon. Hakoda had already left for the party that would be starting in a half hour but Aang and Sokka had stayed behind to wait for Katara. They sat at the kitchen table waiting for her to come down the stairs. Sokka was wearing a simple water tribe outfit while Aang was wearing his Avatar robes that he got after the war. He always wore the robes to parties or other gatherings, they made him feel older.<p>

"I wonder what's taking her so long." Aang gazed curiously at the staircase.

"Does it really matter?" Sokka questioned as he bent down from his seat to tie his boot, "Just be patient Aang, she'll come down eventually."

"You don't understand Sokka," Aang turned back to the boy, "I have been waiting for this since yesterday."

"I do understand Aang. Your girl got a new dress and now you can't wait to see her in it. I have been through the same thing with Suki," Sokka explained, "The difference between you and I is that I maintained my dignity while I waited… and I didn't sit at the bottom of a staircase like a lost animal looking for its home."

"Oh is that what I look like?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Sokka said simply as he looked up from his shoe to see Aang gaze back towards the stairway with wide eyes. Sokka rolled his eyes, "Jeez, you are lovesick."

"Is that really a bad thing?" Aang asked, not taking his eyes off the stairs.

"No, it doesn't have to be but it does make you and Katara difficult to be around," Sokka teased as he got up from his seat, "Speaking of which, I am not sure if I want to be here when she does end up coming down. I'll meet you guys there okay."

"Yeah okay," Aang responded, distracted by his thoughts.

Sokka shook his head and walked out the door, leaving Aang alone to wait for his girlfriend. Aang didn't have to wait much longer though. A few minutes later he saw her come down the stairs and the sight of her took his breath away as his eyes drifted over her. She was beautiful.

Katara was wearing an outfit that somewhat resembled her fire nation one except it was light blue in color, which showed off her tanned skin perfectly as well as her blues eyes that Aang loved so much . The top of the outfit hanged on to one of her shoulders, leaving the other shoulder bare, and it didn't have any sleeves. Aang glanced down to see that the outfit showed a little bit of midriff, though not as much as her Fire Nation one had, but enough so the Aang could see a good portion of the bottom of her stomach. She wore a skirt that was the same color as the rest of the outfit and there was a slit down on of the sides that let her walk more freely. Aang also noted happily that her hair was completely down and the brown waves cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. The girl looked like an angel to him.

Katara's blues eyes met his wide grey ones, "What do you think," she asked a little shyly, but pleased by his reaction.

Aang walked over to her, taking her in his arms before kissing her passionately. "Beautiful." He said pulling away to look her up and down again before adding quietly, "You look amazing Katara…you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He looked back into her eyes deeply, seeing the joy she had in them as she smiled, a blush rising to her cheeks at the compliment.

Katara muttered a quite 'thank you' before taking his hand in hers. "Should, we go? It starts in a few minutes doesn't it?"

"Um…yeah," Aang responded dreamily, still staring at her, trying to force his feet to move.

Katara giggled, pleased that he liked it so much. She would never admit it, but she had been nervous at what he would think. She smiled, pulling her boyfriend out the door as he finally managed to get a hold of himself. The couple walked together a few streets over to where the dining hall was and they noticed that many other people were heading there to.

Aang wrapped his arm around Katara's waist as they walked side by side; trying to ignore the whispers they heard from the other people. They were able to make out some of the whispers though; things like 'look how cute they are' and 'they look cute together'. The couple blushed when they heard the comments, but at the same time, it made them happy to be reminded that people accepted them as a couple. The city had known about their relationship as soon as they arrived in the South Pole. Some people had given them gifts out of politeness, but what the couple appreciated the most was that the city respected their privacy. In the Earth Kingdom, people would follow Aang wherever he would go, making alone time difficult, but the Southern Water Tribe gave the couple their space and it was something that they were very grateful for.

They finally reached the dining hall and began to look to where Sokka was sitting. Sure enough, they found him at one of the tables at the front of the room talking with Hakoda, Pakku, and Kanna. The couple smiled and began to walk over towards them.

* * *

><p>"Where are Aang and Katara?"<p>

Sokka looked at his dad as he sat down at the table with the rest of his family, "Oh, Katara was still getting ready and Aang was acting like a lovesick seal pup so I just told him that I would meet them here."

Hakoda laughed at the way Sokka described it, "A lovesick seal pup?"

"Yeah, you should have seen him," Sokka explained, "He sat there staring at the stairs waiting for her to come down for like…half an hour. I had to get out of there before she did come down, or else I probably would have seen something that I didn't want to see."

"Oh is just means he cares about her," Kanna interjected, trying to defend the young couple in their absence, "Their in love, let them have their fun and stop giving them a hard time. They are happy with each other and you should be happy for your sister."

"Oh, I am all fine with their relationship, I would just prefer to not see any of it," Sokka told his grandmother before adding, "And I just can't help but tease them a bit. Toph used to do it all the time…I am just kind of filling up her position."

"Well just be careful, you never know when that might come to bite you in the back."

"Oh, please, what could Aang and Katara possibly do?"

The old women smiled at her grandson, "Well from what I here, we will see Suki again eventually. I wouldn't put it passed Katara to try to get back at you then."

This had Sokka thinking for a moment. When he did reunite with Suki, Katara really wouldn't start teasing him and walking in on him all the time would she? Sokka knew that he would sometimes intentionally ruin a romantic moment between the younger couple but his own sister wouldn't do the same thing back to him. Right? It was then that Sokka remembered just what siblings would do to each other sometimes. Sokka hung his head, "Ah, crap."

The rest of the family laughed at his reaction.

Sokka, trying to get off of that topic, looked at his father, "When is the feast starting."

"Soon," he responded, "It looks like almost everyone is here. It'll be a couple more minutes."

Sokka's shoulders fell a little as he stared at the food set at the middle of the table in front of him. Food had been placed at every table, but everyone knew to wait for Hakoda to announce the beginning of the celebrations before they ate anything.

"Well speaking of people getting here," Pakku said looking off away from the table, "Here comes two more now."

Everyone at the table turned to see Aang and Katara walking hand in hand towards them.

"Hey guys sorry we're late," Katara greeted as she and Aang took two empty seats next to each other that had been reserved for them.

"It's all right," Hakoda smiled at his daughter, "We aren't quite ready to start anyways."

Meanwhile, Sokka was eyeing his sister curiously, finally seeing what the dress was that Aang had been fussing over earlier. He had to admit she looked good in it but at the same time he wished Katara had chosen something that covered up more skin. He knew he was just playing the protective brother role by thinking that but he didn't care.

"What?" his sister asked when she saw him staring at her.

"Nothing," Sokka shrugged, "That dress just looks good on you…though I guess it could probably cover up more."

Katara rolled her eyes choosing to ignore his comment.

"So Aang," Hakoda said, smiling at the boy, "Sokka told me you were having a rough time waiting back at the house."

Aang blushed, glaring at Sokka, as he quickly thought up an excuse to explain his behavior, "Well, I just wanted to make sure we got here on time. I didn't want to be late."

"Is that really the best you could come up with Aang," Sokka laughed, pleased by the way the conversation was going.

"Yeah," Pakku interjected, "I remember Sokka telling us that you looked a little lovesick."

"Um…," Aang began, too embarrassed to say anything more. Luckily, Katara came to his rescue.

"Would you guys leave him alone? Our relationship is our business. Besides," Katara turned to her blushing boyfriend and took his hand in hers, "I think it's sweet."

"Yeah, well it would have been sweeter if I hadn't had to see it," Sokka crossed his arms.

"Ok, enough," Hakoda interjected, "I'm sorry I brought it up. It is time to begin anyways." The water tribe chief stood up to address the city of people that filled the room.

Before he began to speak Kanna leaned over to her granddaughter, "Whatever Sokka says; you look beautiful Katara."

"Thanks Gran Gran," the younger girl smiled before sitting back to listen to her father's speech.

"As all of you know," Hakoda's voice echoed throughout the room, "we are gathered here today to celebrate the ending of a war that had plagued the world for One Hundred long years. The world struggled, our tribe struggled, but despite that our survival was hanging by a thread we managed to pull through and for the last two years the world has experienced a peace that it had forgotten. For two years, the world has worked together to rebuild itself from the destruction. For two years, the nations have kept a peace that many had thought would be impossible to achieve. For two years they have proven that people can work together no matter what nation they are from."

Aang looked over at Katara while Hakoda gave his speech to see if there was any worried reaction from her. He was worried that maybe her father's words would remind her of the worries that she had come to him about last night. She bit her lip gently, and he knew that she was thinking about just that. It made his heart ache, knowing that she was scared. He wanted her to be happy and he promised to himself that by the end of tonight, he will make sure that none of those thoughts plagued her mind. He looked back at Hakoda as he continued his speech.

"Avatar Aang is who we should all be grateful for. With the help of my son and daughter and his friends, he was able to defeat the Firelord who had the intent of destroying the world. Without him, this peace would not be possible."

Aang waved as clapping echoed throughout the room.

"And now without further delay, I declare the beginning of the celebrations. Let us remember all the lives that were lost and let us celebrate the sacrifice they made to show that their lives did not end meaninglessly."

People cheered and clapped as Hakoda's speech ended and he sat down as everyone begin eating. The major celebrating would start at the end of the feast and since Pakku was in charge of the parade that would be going through the city, he took his leave as soon as he was finished eating to prepare everyone else that would be taking part in the parade. Kanna went with him only because she didn't have anything better to do and Hakoda also left soon after to make sure things are as they should be. As more people finished eating, the room began to empty slowly as people began to wander out into the rest of the city.

Katara finished her meal and looked at Aang who was also finishing his, "You ready to go?"

"Of course," he responded, grabbing her hand as he stood up to help her up as well.

"You guys are going to the ballroom right?" Sokka asked as if he already knew the answer.

"Eventually," Katara looked at him, before lightly squeezing Aang's hand, "We are just going to wander around for a bit first and see the parade. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," Sokka stated, "I want to make sure I can get some dancing in before you two clear out the whole floor."

"We won't clear out the whole floor Sokka," Aang told, "When have we ever done that?"

"Oh, I know you guys don't do it intentionally," Sokka explained, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, "but for whatever reason everyone always feels the need to sit back and watch. It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me."

"Well that won't be happening tonight," Katara declared, "Aang and I aren't planning on doing one of those big performances. We just want tonight for ourselves so we're not going to draw attention."

"Yeah," Aang elaborated, "Even I get a bit annoyed sometimes when we do those dances and people watch us, because then they can't seem to leave us alone once we're finished. No big dances tonight." Katara nodded in agreement. As happy as they were to entertain people with their dancing, it also often meant that they wouldn't have any more time to themselves because people would always keep walking up to talk to them about it. Sometimes they just wanted to keep everything between them and not have to deal with all of the attention.

Sokka seemed satisfied by what he was hearing and it was then that Katara decided to drag Aang of with her to some other area in the city. Sokka watched the couple go as he stood up and decided on what to do. In the end, he decided to just wander around to no particular place. Maybe then there would be something that would spark his interest. _If only Suki were here, _he sighed.

* * *

><p>The sun was down now, but everything was still lit by many lanterns that had been placed around the city, giving off enough light for people to see. Aang and Katara walked hand in hand through the crowded streets enjoying each other's company. Around them, there were kids playing games that had been set up and older people that seemed content to just sit there and talk as the festivities went on around them. As the couple continued to walked, they saw some performers showing off their water bending talents to a crowd of people as well as some display cases showing objects that were important to the history of the Southern Watertribe. Katara noticed that there were some pieces of the stranded fire nation ship that she and Aang had explored when they first met in a few of the display cases. The ship had been sunken by Waterbenders a year ago but some scraps of it were kept as a reminder that it had been there. Katara believed that it made sense to display them, the ship had become a symbol of sorts for the Watertribe when it had been there. She believed that many would agree that it was an important part of the tribe's history.<p>

"Remember when you and I explored that ship?" Katara pointed at the pieces that were displayed.

"Of course I do," Aang said, his eyes following Katara's finger to where it was pointed, "How could I forget it. That was the beginning of our journey. That ship is what started everything for us. I couldn't forget that."

Katara smiled as they continued walking through the streets to another section of the city, "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we never went into that ship?"

"I admit I do sometimes, but I think either way we would have ended up going to the North Pole."

"You think so?" Katara asked, glancing at her boyfriend curiously.

"Well Zuko was bound to find this place eventually whether he followed us from the ship or not," he explained to her, "He was already in the area and sure, it may have taken him a little longer to get here but in the end he would have found us and I would have had to reveal that I was the Avatar."

"You know," she said, smiling a little, "In a weird sort of way, Zuko was the cause of the Fire Nation's defeat."

This had Aang looking at her with a questioning look.

"Think about it," she continued, "If Zuko never took you, Sokka and I would have never left this place, and then you would have probably never mastered the elements and defeated the Firelord. So, in a way, him taking you was the root cause for the end of the war."

"Yeah I guess," Aang said, a little unsure.

"I'm serious."

"So are you saying that we should go and thank Zuko next time we see him?"

"He would probably get a kick out of that if we did," Katara said laughing.

Aang just smiled her and shook his head, "And how did you come up with all this?"

She shrugged, "It just made since."

"I'm sure it did," Aang grinned at her, teasingly.

Katara nudged him playfully, before she looked down an alleyway between two buildings and spotted a big crowd gathering. She pulled Aang down the alleyway and to the crowd. "I wonder what everyone is waiting for."

Aang shrugged and looked around. People were all lined up on the sides of the street and they were all looking in one direction. He followed their gazes and saw what everyone was looking at. "It's the parade."

Katara looked down to the street to see that Aang was right. Pakku and many other waterbenders walked down the street, all performing complex waterbending forms. Water swirled around the waterbenders as they formed different shapes and patterns. People cheered them on, enjoying the performances.

"You know," Aang said, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder to hold her to him, "I am surprised you are not in the parade. I would think Pakku would want you in it."

"He did," she said, resting her head on his shoulder though her eyes never left the parade, "It just would have taken up the majority of the night and…this was a night that I wanted to spend with you."

"You know, I wouldn't have minded if you were a part of it," he told her.

"I know," she said, breaking her eyes off the parade to look at him, "But you come first in my life. You always will."

He smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, "I love you, you know."

"I know, I love you to," she said, as the parade passed them and people began to disperse around them "And you know what I love doing with you." She looked into his eyes.

"Um…kissing?"

"Well that to," Katara giggled and kissed his cheek, "But besides that."

Aang raised his eyebrow at her in question.

"Dancing."

* * *

><p>Sokka walked through the street, looking at the different things that people were doing. He just didn't feel like doing any of that though. Seeing Aang and Katara enjoying themselves as much as they did during the feast began to make him think about Suki. He missed her, and he wanted her here. The problem was though; she put the Kyoshi Warriors before him. Part of him was a little resentful of that, put the more logical side of him knew that she did have duties and until she sorted them out, her duties had to come first.<p>

"Sokka!"

Sokka looked up, surprised to see his father waving at him, and walked over to him, "What are you doing here dad? I thought you would be helping out the council."

"I was," Hakoda explained, "But we need your help so I figured I would come find you. I found you faster than I thought would."

"Yeah, well, I haven't exactly moved to far from where you saw me last time."

Hakoda looked to see that they were in fact only a couple dozen feet from where the feast had taken place and then glanced back to his son, "Is something wrong? Why haven't you gone to do anything?"

"I don't know. I just don't want to I guess," Sokka shrugged, "Anyways, what do you need help with?"

"Well we were going to shoot off fireworks on the outskirts of the city for people to see. We could just use an extra hand to help light them," Hakoda said, holding out a couple of spark rocks.

Sokka took the rocks, _I don't really have anything better to do, "_Yeah, sure. I'll help."

* * *

><p>Katara smiled as she led Aang into the ballroom. It wasn't as crowded as she thought it would be, but there was still a good amount of people in it. There was a bar off to the side where people were having some snacks and drinks but the majority of the people were on the dance floor that covered the majority of the room. A group of musicians sat in the far corner playing the songs that people were dancing to and as if they had heard her unspoken wish, they began to play a slower song.<p>

"Looks like we got here right on time," she grinned at her boyfriend, pulling him to an open area on the dance floor.

When they found a suitable place, Aang placed his hands on her hips. In turn, she placed her hands on his shoulders and together, they began to sway back and forth.

They looked into each other's eyes and Katara felt completely at peace. She was overcome by the emotions that she felt for him. When she was with him, she felt free, she felt like there was nothing in the world to worry about. She knew that there was no one else that she would want to spend the rest of her life with. He was the one, she knew it. They balanced each other. He allowed her to overcome her weaknesses and she helped him overcome his. His happiness was her happiness. His pain was her pain. To the world he was the Avatar, but to her, he was Aang. The person she loved more than anything else and she promised herself that she would make sure that he always had her help. He would not face his Avatar duties alone, not if she had anything to say about it. It was her destiny to help him, she was sure of it, and there was nothing else that she would want to be doing.

She felt his thumbs begin to stroke the skin just above her hips and she sighed, leaning further into him. "I love you, Aang," she said softly, "I love you so much."

He rested his forehead against hers, "I love you to Katara," he whispered back, holding her closer as the continued rocking back and forth.

Katara closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of being close to him, "I feel like I owe you an apology," she started, keeping her voice soft so the other dancers around them couldn't hear her, "You keep telling me to not worry about someone disrupting the peace and I wasn't listening to you."

"You don't have to apologize for that."

"Yes, I do Aang," she opened her eyes to gaze into his that were just inches away, "You were right. There is nothing to worry about and I should have listened to you the first time. Just being with you right now, it takes all my worries away and that has helped me realize just how silly they were to begin with."

Aang stopped their swaying motion and just stood there holding her, happy to know that she wasn't worried anymore.

"Even if something did happen," she continued, "You and I would fix it together; just like we always have, and there is nothing that I should be worried about as long as that is true."

Aang softly pressed his lips to hers before pulling back a little and looked at her lovingly, "You're right about that." He continued to stare at her and he could almost feel her feelings for him radiating off of her. The feeling put him at peace and right now, he wanted to show her just how much he appreciated her. He took her by the hand and led her out of the ball room.

Katara followed him willingly, having a good idea about where they were going. She was led into a deserted alleyway away from the more populated areas and she smiled, with the knowledge of what they would be doing for the next several minutes. She had wanted find a quite place where she could let out her feelings for him and she was pleased to know that he had been feeling the same way.

Aang pressed her against the wall and brought his lips down on hers. Katara responded eagerly, kissing him with all the passion she had as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. She felt his tongue touch her lips and she parted her mouth allowing his tongue to slip in. A few days ago, she had been passive, but not tonight. As his tongue entered her mouth, she stroked it with her own, causing both of them to moan softly. The two battled for dominance but neither of them was able to get an upper hand on the other. Her hands ran along his back as one of his ran through her hair. His other hand rested on the small of her back, and he pressed himself closer to her. The couple parted for breath but neither wanted to stop and they began to give each other short, sweet kisses between breaths. She held him tightly as he caressed her cheek with his, before he began to plant kisses down her neck and onto her one bare shoulder. He took some skin gently between his teeth and began to suck on her, causing quiet moans to produce in the back of her throat.

"Aang," she breathed, placing one hand on the back of his head to keep him there.

Seeing that she was enjoying it, Aang continued what he was doing. He gently licked the tender skin with his tongue as he felt her breathing quicken. He could feel her chest moving against his as she breathed heavily, and her hands gripped him tightly. When he began to feel that she was having trouble in controlling her breathing, he brought his head back up to hers and looked into her wide eyes that were staring back at him with a passion that she could only hold for him. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and stoked them with his thumb as he waited for her breathing to calm a little bit. Katara didn't seem to want to wait though. She leaned her head forward and once again, their lips locked.

It didn't last long though as the couple suddenly heard a loud crashing noise above them. They broke apart and Aang looked up into the sky and smiled when he saw that a firework had gone off. He quickly picked up Katara, who was still in a bit of a haze from what they had been doing, and jumped up to one of the flat rooftops so they could watch; causing Katara to gasp and hold onto him tightly. When they got on the roof, he set her down on the icy surface. Katara lay down with him and shivered when she felt the ice against her back. That soon changed when Aang began to heat them both with Firebending. She glanced at him gratefully before she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder and looking up at the sky as another firework exploded overhead. Aang looked up with her, holding her close to him while one of his hands stroked her hair.

Katara felt complete a peace as she lay there with him. Unlike the past few days, no worries plagued her and no dark thoughts filled her mind. Instead she thought of Aang and the bright future that she would have with him. And no matter what happened, she knew that nothing would be able to tear them apart.

* * *

><p><strong>I admit, this chapter was the most difficult to write so far. I probably looked it over 10 times. I think it turned out good though. <strong>


	4. Kuruk's Descendant

**Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter then the others but that is just how I have it set out. Some chapters will be long, some short. This just happens to be a shorter one. We do get to see some new characters though and a bigger look at the overall plot.**

**Disclaimer: You remember how last week I told you guys how I didn't own Avatar? Well...that hasn't changed.**

* * *

><p>A few hours later the couple decided to head back home. Though there were still plenty of people out partying, the celebrations were beginning to end and the couple was tired. As they entered the house the first thing they noticed was that Sokka and Hakoda were not back yet.<p>

"They must still be out," Aang said.

Katara simply took his hand and led him up the stairs. When they got to the doors of their respective bedrooms, he let her hand go and turned to go into his own bedroom for the night expecting her to go into her own when she quickly put her hand on his shoulder causing him to halt.

He turned around to look at her questionably, "Is something wrong?"

Katara shook her head, a blush rising on her cheeks as she looked towards the ground, "I was just…well …if you don't mind…"

He took her chin in his hand and brought her face up to look back at him, "What is it Katara? You know you can ask me anything."

"I was just wondering if you could…" She smiled slightly and looked at him through her lashes, "stay with me for the night?"

He leaned forward to kiss her briefly, "I'd love to."

"Yeah?"

"Of course," he said, leading her into her room, "Why wouldn't I?"

Katara looked at him as she began to strip down to her bindings, "I just don't want to be a bother, that's all. I woke you up last night…"

"Katara, you are never a bother," he smiled at her as he laid down on the bed after stripping down to his underwear, "Nothing matters to me more than you, and I am always happy to be there for you, whether you wake me up in the middle of the night or not."

She gave him an appreciative look before she laid down beside him, "What did I ever do to deserve you?" she whispered as they turned to face each other.

"You didn't have to do anything," he whispered back, reaching his hand up to stoke her cheek, "you had me when you first broke me out of the iceberg."

Katara leaned into his hand closing her eyes, "I am so glad I found you."

"I would hope so," he told her, "the world might not be the way it is now if you didn't."

"That's not the reason Aang," she opened her eyes back up to look into his, "Sure, I am glad that the world is safe now but you mean more to me then just some kid that saved the world. I don't think you realize how much you've helped me. After my mom died, I felt so alone. I had Sokka and my dad but…"

A few tears fell from her eyes lining her cheeks and Aang wiped them away softly with his thumb before she continued.

"It just wasn't the same. I had to grow up so fast and I always felt like there was an empty space in my heart…but then I met you and everything changed. I was happy again and eventually that empty space in my heart wasn't empty anymore. You mean everything to me; I can't imagine my life without you now. You've become my whole world."

Aang pulled Katara into a tight embrace as he rubbed her back causing her to sigh softly in his arms. _It's like how she replaced the air nomads for me. I replaced the empty spot in her heart that was left by her mom._

"You know," Aang said as he continued to hold her, "you've filled up an empty spot in my heart to."

She pulled away to look at him, "I have?"

"The air nomads," he said simply.

"What?" she said, a little taken aback, "I couldn't have replaced an entire nation to you Aang?"

"You already have," he said looking deeply into her eyes, "You were the only thing that kept me going during the war. You were my purpose. I was doing that all for you Katara. I don't even know what I would do if I somehow lost you now. I'm not sure how I would survive."

"Well, then let's make sure we don't lose each other then okay? I can't lose you either." She told him, leaning her forehead against his as they held each other.

They could feel their breaths over each other's lips and every now and then they would lean forward to steal a few kisses but the couple was content to just lay there and hold each other. While one of Aang's hands held her waist, the other hand slowly framed her figure, running up her legs and sides, feeling her soft skin. The girl gave out a soft, contented sigh from the feeling and he began to feel goose bumps on her. The hand then moved to run up her arm before it massaged the back of her head causing Katara to close her eyes as she relaxed against him, her hands slowly drawing circles on his back.

"You know what else comes up in a few weeks?" Aang asked tiredly as sleep began to overtake him.

"Hmm?"

"Our anniversary," he whispered softly as he moved his hand from the back of her head to once again run along her body.

She smiled softly at him as she forced her eyes to stay open, wanting to feel more of his ministrations, "What are we going to do for it?"

"We'll think of something," he nuzzled his nose to hers.

"As long as I have you," she whispered, her eyes closing as sleep began to overtake her.

"You always will," was the last thing she heard as she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

><p>All the way across the world, not too far from the Northern Watertribe, a passenger ship sailed through the seas. After the war, the nations opened up to each other, allowing citizens from one nation to visit each other. That was exactly what the people on the ship were doing: an assortment of people from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation all venturing into the Northern Watertribe. While most people were below the ship's deck, since they weren't used to the cold that the arctic weather brought, a few people stayed on the top where they could overlook the ocean and see the Northern Watertribe off in the distance. One of these men was a young man in his early thirties named Tau.<p>

He was used to the cold, it was one of the advantages of growing up in the Southern Watertribe, but that was a home that he had left long ago and if he had it his way, he would never return. Like most people from the watertribes, he had tan skin and crystal blue eyes that had certain coldness to them; eyes that showed that the young warrior was haunted by past memories that he was likely to never forget. His black hair was cut short and he had small stubble on his chin. He wore a green winter coat that he had gotten from the Earth Kingdom before the ship had parted on its voyage and heavy pants that went along with it. His neck though, held his most prized possession. Around his neck, hung a small necklace with an assortment of teeth from animals hanging off of it. Many people would just discard his necklace as nothing special, but Tau knew the truth.

The necklace had once belonged to Avatar Kuruk and after his death, it had been passed down to his decedents and now, it was Tau who held it. It was something that he would never give up and when he had been captured by the Fire Nation years ago, he was grateful that he was able to make a bargain that allowed him to keep it. His hand reached up and grasped the necklace as he thought about the time he spent in the Fire Nation prisons. They had been the hardest years in his life but something good had come out of it.

"I still don't get what is so important about that thing."

Tau turned around to see his closest friend, Sorin, walking over to him. Sorin was a man who was a little older then Tau by a couple of years. His skin was pale, he had hair down to his neck and he had golden eyes like everyone else that was Fire Nation. He was the man that had helped Tau survive in prison. Sorin had betrayed the Fire Nation by handing over battle plans to the Earth Kingdom and for that he was thrown into the same prison that Tau had been held in. They quickly became friends and for Tau, prison life became bearable. Tau learned that Sorin was a gifted Fire Bender and he was one of the top ranking officers in the army before he had attempted to betray it. The two hadn't been apart since they met and when they were let out a few months ago, Tau had been grateful that Sorin had agreed to tag along with him to the Northern Watertribe.

Tau looked at his friend, who wore an outfit similar as him, "Haven't I told you before. It's a family, heirloom," he said, tucking his necklace into his coat, "it was passed down from Kuruk and it is also the thing that will be helping us get what we need in the Watertribe."

"You still haven't explained yet what exactly it is that we are doing," Sorin walked up to stand beside him.

"I just need you to trust me."

"I do Tau, but I think I could be a little more help to you if I knew more," Sorin explained.

"I have already told you part of it," Tau said calmly, "we are looking for information about a group of spirits that Avatar Kuruk may have been involved with late in his life. We are just going to gain access to his shrine in the Northern Watertribe and we will see what we can find."

"But why do you want to know about these spirits though," Sorin insisted.

"That is what I would like to know to."

The two men looked off to the side to see a third man walking over to them. He wore the same outfit that the other two did and like Tau, he had tan skin, though it wasn't nearly as dark as Tau's was. He had green eyes and a small beard that framed his face.

"Ryu," Tau greeted, "it's about time you joined us up here." Though he and Ryu weren't as close as he and Sorin were, Tau still considered Ryu a friend. He was a former Dai Li agent, and like the rest of the Dai Li, he was thrown in jail after the war's end. Tau and Sorin had broken him out of jail a couple of weeks ago. In return, he agreed to help Tau on his mission.

"Yeah, don't get used to it. The quicker we leave back for the Earth Kingdom the better."

"We won't be here long," Tau assured him, "just long enough to get what we need. Follow me and let's go someplace more private and I will tell you exactly what we are doing."

Sorin and Ryu nodded and followed Tau to their rooms on the ship. Tau closed the door and began talking as Ryu and Sorin took a seat on one of the beds, "I really can't tell you much that I haven't already. I had heard rumors long ago that Avatar Kuruk had been hunting a group of spirits during the later stages of his life. What's more is that he found them. The problem is I haven't been able to find any record of what he found."

Sorin leaned against the wall of the room, "yeah, we must have looked through dozens of libraries after we were released from prison, but what makes you think we will find something here."

"Kuruk's shrine," Tau explained, "If there is anything pertaining to these spirits, that is where it will be."

"What I don't get though," Ryu said, "is why there is no information on these spirits anywhere else."

Tau turned to the former Dai Li agent, "I couldn't tell you. Maybe they are ancient, maybe they have never interfered with the physical world before. I am telling you what I know and that is this. I wish to follow in my ancestor's footsteps. If we are able to find these spirits, who knows what we could accomplish. If we are able to get them in our control, we could gain a power that few can achieve," Tau paused for a second before continuing, "I just want to bring peace to those in the world that deserve it. You two are welcome to back out if you want. We could get in tough situations in the months ahead but I will continue my search with your help or not."

"I'm with you Tau," Sorin promised, "you're my friend and we stick together."

Ryu nodded, "I have an obligation to you, and the rewards from this seem like they could be rather good. I have no reason to leave. Just answer this though, because something doesn't match up to me about you."

"What is it?"

"When I first met you," Ryu began, "you told me that you were a waterbender from the Southern Watertribe. Kuruk is from the Northern Tribe, how can you be his descendent?"

"My great grandparents moved down to the South Pole," Tau said simply, "Is that really hard to believe?"

"Ok, next question then. You know I was a former Dai Li and believe me, we were well informed. Before the end of the war, there has been only one Waterbender in the South Pole for decades and I have seen her myself. I have seen your waterbending abilities and, as impressive as they are, that still doesn't change the fact that there was one Waterbender, not two."

"You mean that there was only one Waterbender that people KNEW of," Tau corrected, staring Ryu strait in the eyes, "I don't mind answering any questions you have Ryu, but I do care about having your trust. I will not work with someone who believes that I am deceiving them."

"My apologies," Ryu bowed briefly, "I meant no disrespect. I was merely curious. You understand the desire to want to know about your superiors do you not? I like to know who I am working for."

"I understand Ryu," Tau told him, "I just ask that you trust me."

"Of course."

Suddenly the felt the ship come to a halt.

"We must be coming into port," Sorin said.

The three of them walked out of the room after gathering what little gear they had as they went up to the top of the ship and sure enough, the ship was docked.

When it had been agreed to let citizens visit separate nations freely, the Northern Tribe had built a port just outside of the main wall and tunnels ran through it that would lead people into the city but before people could access those tunnels they had to go through a passport check so the authorities can get a record on the people coming in.

Tau and his companions walked down the ramp that led to the shore and began to stand in line to get into the city.

"This could take a while," Sorin said, the line was easily a couple hundred people long.

"Does it matter?" Tau countered, "We will get in, and that is all we need."

It must have taken two hours but eventually they got up to the guards. Like everyone else, the three produced their passports and the guards took a look at them. Soon after that, they were cleared to go into the city.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," Sorin remarked as they walked through the tunnels. Tau walked in the middle with Sorin on his right and Ryu on his left.

"They had no reason to keep us out," Tau said, "Now getting into Kuruk's shrine might be a problem."

"And what happens if they don't let us in?" Ryu asked.

"Then we go in anyway, one way or another," Tau declared.

A few minutes later they finally exited the tunnels and for the first time they saw the Northern Watertribe. Tau had to admit, it was impressive, _a lot better than that hell-hole down South, _he thought.

After they walked through the city for a while, Tau finally spotted what he believed to be the entrance to the shrine far off in the distance in the very upper back portions of the city.

"Follow me," he told his companions and together they walked across the icy streets and up many flights of stairs before they finally reached it.

Tau first noticed that a couple of guards stood outside the doorway. _It must be the shrine, _he thought_, they wouldn't have people standing guard if it wasn't something important._"Let me handle this," Tau ordered Ryu and Sorin.

The group walked up to the entrance where they were stopped by the guards, who wore dark blue water tribe jackets and they each held a spear with a giant whale bone on the end of it.

"Where do you think you three are going?" One of the guards asked.

"Is this Avatar Kuruk's shrine?" Tau answered with another question.

"It is and unless you have a signed permission form from the chief, you are not allowed in sir."

"Is that so?" Tau raised an eyebrow and eyed the guards.

One of them spoke up, "We're sorry for the inconvenience sir, but it's the rules. The shrine holds Avatar Kuruk's most valuable belongings. We can't just let anyone in."

"Oh, I assure you," Tau told them while he reached into his coat to pull out his necklace, "I am not just some random person attempting to gain access."

The guards eyes widened as they saw the necklace and recognized it for what it was, "That's Avatar Kuruk's but how…"

"It has been passed down to me. I am the rightful owner of it and I do believe that I have every right to see what is inside this shrine," Tau said, "Unless of course you would want me to go and find the chief and I could tell him that you refused to let in the Avatar's descendant. Whatever is in there, arguably, belongs to me."

The guards looked at each other before turning back to Tau, "Very well, we will have to alert the chief though that we granted you access."

"That's understandable," Tau told them as he, Ryu, and Sorin began to walk through the doorway but the guards stopped them again.

"Your friends are going to have to wait outside until the chief is notified unless they are also Kuruk's descendants."

"They stay with me," Tau told the guards, narrowing his eyes at them, "If you want to call the chief to come here then go ahead. I have nothing to hide from him."

The guards seemed to shrink under his gaze, "Ok, go on through. Chief Arnook will be here shortly to speak with you. If anything is out of place, you will regret it."

"You have nothing to worry about," Tau assured them calmly, before turning to head into the shrine with Ryu and Sorin close behind him.

The guards watched them go inside, "Go get Arnook," one of them said. The second guard nodded and left to alert Chief Arnook of their guests.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, so I know that we never actually saw a shrine for Kuruk in the Northern Watertribe, but the Fire Nation has the temple for Roku, the Earth Kingdom has the shrine on Kyoshi Island for Kyoshi...so I think it is fair to say that the Watertribe's would have something for Kuruk. Just because we never saw it, doesn't mean it isn't there...that is my philosophy. Anyways, I hope everyone comes to enjoy the new guys because they are major characters in the fic, though Aang and Katara are still the main focus. <strong>

**For the people that have been reviewing, thank you! You guys are awesome!:)**


	5. Discoveries

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, do you really think that I would be writing FAN fiction?**

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><p>They walked down the long hallway that would eventually lead them into the shrine. It was almost like a cave. Ice surrounded them as they travelled down the narrow passage way. Tau had no idea why the shrine had to be built so far into the ice but as he turned around to look back at where they came from he saw why. Anyone that came in here that was not supposed to come in would have a hard time getting out. The narrow pathway was the only way out and anyone inside would be easily trapped. Tau turned back around and continued down the path, making a mental note to not get anyone suspicious of his motives while they were in here.<p>

They had probably walked a few hundred more feet and Tau could finally see the exit of the pathway. When they reached the end, the group looked around to see what was there. The shrine was smaller than Tau expected. He thought it would be the size of a large house but instead it was it was no bigger than a medium sized room. _At least that makes the searching easier, _he thought as he continued to scan the room. There was some of Kuruk's clothing, a weapon that reassembled a spear, some paintings, as well as a large shelf that held dozens of books. There was also a table place in the center of the room; Tau guessed it was so people could make themselves comfortable if they decided to read anything.

After assessing everything else that was there, Tau turned to his two friends, "Look through some of the books. If there is any information here, that is where it will be."

"There is no way we are going to be able to search through all of these Tau," Sorin said, but still walking over to the shelf as Ryu picked out a few of the books to look at.

"We don't have to," Tau told him, "Just look for anything that looks like it would mention spirits."

"Like this one?" Ryu cut in as he held up a book.

Tau walked over to him to look at the book he was holding, "_Journey into the Spirit World. _It looks promising, skim through it and see what you can find."

Ryu nodded and walked over to sit at the table and Sorin did the same after picking out a few other books to read.

Once they were settled, Tau went up to the bookshelf to pick something out for himself. A lot of it was just books about bending techniques or Avatar related subjects. As Tau continued to look up and down the shelf he suddenly stopped as his eyes fell on one of the books. It looked old, the cover seemed worn but that was expected for a book that was a couple of centuries old. He looked closer to examine the title, _Kuruk's Journal_. He picked the book off the shelf and walked over to where his friends were sitting.

"Find something?" Sorin asked as he sat down.

"His Journal," Tau replied, holding the book up for his companions to see, "I would think if Kuruk had found these spirits he would have wrote about it in here."

"Kuruk kept a journal?" Ryu looked up from the book that he was reading raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, a lot of Avatars did," Tau explained, "writing things down is the only way to keep record of history. Avatars are usually involved in things that are of great importance so many of them keep a journal of their lives for the record. I thought you would have known that."

"The Dai Li stopped caring about the Avatars decades ago. It was only until the current one returned that we had started to research the Avatar's history. We didn't get very far though and we were jailed a few months after. We didn't have time to find anything," Ryu explained, "How do you know about the journals though?"

"Sorin and I read Roku's before we met you," Tau said, "the Sages at the temple it was held at told us that it was one of many of the Avatar journals. They said that not all Avatars kept journals but a good amount of them did."

"Lucky for us then," Ryu said letting out a small laugh, "hopefully what we need is in there."

"Hmhm," Tau hummed as he opened the book and began to read it.

He decided to start reading more towards the end because he knew that since Kuruk had been looking for these rumored spirits in the latter stages of his life any information about them would be towards the back of the book.

After a few minutes Tau finally found an entry in the Journal about frequent travels to the spirit world.

"What is it?" Sorin asked when he saw a small smile appear on Tau's face.

Tau looked up from the book, "Have you guys heard the story of what happened to Kuruk?"

"Yeah," Sorin said, "his girlfriend was killed or something like that."

"Do you know how though?"

"Wasn't it by a spirit?" Ryu questioned, "I think it was called Komi or…Ku?"

"Koh," Tau corrected, "He is a face stealing spirit. According to what Kuruk wrote here, whoever shows emotion in front of Koh looses their face."

"Wait," Sorin said confused, "That doesn't make any sense. How could you lose your face? Wouldn't you be dead after that?"

Ryu turned to Sorin, "Things work differently in the spirit world. I am no expert, but I am pretty certain that things like breathing and eating don't apply there. I am sure the experience of losing your face would be painful but you would probably survive it in the spirit world. "

"We're getting off of the point," Tau interrupted.

"Well is Koh the spirit we are looking for?" Sorin asked.

"No, but Koh seems to be the one that caused Kuruk to start looking for these unknown spirits though. Kuruk wrote that after he lost his girlfriend, Ummi, he began to hunt Koh to get her back…"

"Wouldn't Ummi have to be in the spirit world for Koh to get her?" Sorin asked, interrupting Tau.

"Unless Koh travelled into the physical world. That is irrelevant though. Listen to this, it's what Kuruk wrote," Tau said as he began to read an excerpt from the book, "It took me months to track down Koh. I was going to get my Ummi back whether the ancient spirit would release her or not. No one has ever tried to go up against a spirit the way I was planning to, especially in the spirit world. This is for Ummi though, she was worth it. Unfortunately, when I arrived at Koh's layer, he caught me off guard. I tried to fight him but I knew that if I ever had any chance to get Ummi back I would need help. I would need a spirit that would be willing to assist me in battling Koh. So I ran away and began my search. I had to kill Koh though. It was the only way to release the faces that he possessed and thereby I would gain the love of my life back."

"So Ummi was somehow still alive?" Ryu asked, "Kuruk seemed to think he could get her back."

"Yeah," Tau responded, "Ummi must have been in the spirit world somehow at the time her face was stolen. Kuruk probably left her there to keep her alive till he could get her face back. It would have been fatal if she left."

"Well," Sorin said, "that explains what happens but it doesn't really say anything about the spirits that we are looking for. It just says that he began to search for help.

"Well it looks like that is what the next excerpt is about and…hmm that's weird," Tau said.

"What?" Ryu asked.

"This next part is written 3 decades later," Tau said, surprised.

Their eyes widened at what Tau said before Sorin spoke up, "Why would he go that long without writing anything and then just decide to write something down again?"

"Because he was unable to do any writing, hear this," Tau began to read again, "At first I didn't know how long I walked through the spirit world searching. No matter what I kept going, I was determined. And after what seemed like a long time I found what I needed and I finally was content enough to return to the physical world. What I had to do next had to be done outside the spirit world if it was going to work but when I came back I was surprised to find a world I didn't recognize. I soon realized I had been gone for at least 3 decades. I was weak, my body could barely move from the lack of use. I managed to recover though and once again I started on my journey to get Ummi back. With the information I had gathered in the spirit world, I had learned about a group of spirits that…" Tau suddenly stopped reading as he turned the page.

"What is it?" Ryu asked.

"It just stops," Tau said in a low voice full of defeat, "The rest of the pages of the journal are ripped out. There is nothing else there."

The three became quite as the news sunk in. Oddly enough, Tau noticed, there was an extra blank page in the very back of the book. He decided to just ignore that for the moment as he flipped through the pages in the front of the book, trying desperately to find anything that would continue where the last excerpt had ended but he had no luck.

"Why would someone rip the pages out of the back of Kuruk's Journal," Sorin thought out loud.

"Because they were trying to hide something," Tau said, eyes narrowing, "whatever Kuruk found, someone didn't want anyone else to find out about it."

"So what do we do now?" Ryu asked irritated, "we can't exactly go looking around the world for a few pages that might not even exist anymore."

"We might not have to," Tau said, resting his hand on his forehead as he began to think, "Okay, there has to be some lead on to what happened to the missing pages."

"Why would you think that?" Sorin questioned, "what makes you think someone didn't just burn them?"

"Because it was something new that Kuruk discovered," Tau explained, "something that people hadn't known of before. No matter how dangerous it is, I don't think someone would have destroyed it completely. Maybe someone hid it."

"Even if someone did hide it though, it would still be hard to find," Ryu said.

"Not if whoever took them left behind some clues as to where they might be," Tau replied, "Let's look around some more. See if we can't find anything else."

"Is there something I could help you with?"

The three turned to see Chief Arnook walking up to them with the two guards that had been standing outside. As Arnook walked into the room, the guards remained at the doorway to give the group some space.

"Chief Arnook," Tau quickly bowed along with Sorin and Ryu. _Might as well play nice, keep it simple, _he thought, "I am Tau, my friends are Ryu and Sorin," he said gesturing to his companions.

"There is no need for the bowing," Arnook smiled, "It is quite an honor to have a descendant from an Avatar in the Northern Watertribe. Is everything going okay?"

"My friends and I were just looking though some of these books and we discovered something I find disturbing. Your guards preached to me about how you guys are looking out for the types of people that walk in here. How you guys don't let just anyone in…you might want to tell them to do their job better," Tau said handing Arnook _Kuruk's Journal_, "Look in the back."

Arnook raised an eyebrow before opening the back of the book and his eyes widened, "I had no idea. I don't know who could have done this. We keep a record on everyone that walks into this shrine and we check them before they leave. It would be impossible for someone to steal this many pages."

"How long ago did you start doing those checks?" Tau asked.

"We have been doing it for almost a century. We started towards the beginning of the 100 Years War and we don't have any record of someone stealing anything."

"That must mean that someone ripped out those pages before that then," Ryu said, tilting his head towards Tau.

"And that means that they are long gone," Sorin sighed.

"Not quite," Tau said determinedly, "we can still find out what happened to them."

Arnook handed the journal back to Tau, "I am sorry you have not found what you are looking for. What is it if I may ask?"

"I am just trying to find some history," Tau said running his hand along the cover of the book, "it's important to me."

"I understand. You don't seem like the kinds of people that would cause trouble so I will give you your privacy. I will be outside if you need anything," Arnook said as he walked out with his two guards behind him.

Ryu and Sorin spent the next several minutes searching for any other information that could be helpful but Tau just stood there running his hand over the pages of the book in thought. When his hand ran along the very back blank page though, part of the surface felt a little different. Tau ran his hand over it again and once again he felt a different texture then the rest of the book had. It was only in certain spots of the page though and the texture felt a little harder, almost like sand paper. An idea popped in his head as Tau bended some water out of the air and slowly soaked the water into the page. _Come on, let this work, _he thought.

Sure enough, when the page was soaked with water the rougher parts stood out against the rest of the paper since it did not absorb as much water and to Tau's delight, he could clearly see some sort of symbol that had a whole bunch of mountain looking figures that had a city in the middle of them.

"You two, come look at this," Tau said.

Ryu and Sorin quickly came over to him, "What did you find?" Sorin asked.

"Look," Tau held the book out so they can see it, "Do either of you know what this symbol means."

Sorin shook his head but Ryu spoke up, "That is the symbol for the Omashu archives; it holds a lot of the city's documents, secrets, anything that is of the upmost importance."

"I think we know where the pages are," Tau smiled.

"This doesn't make any sense though," Sorin said, "How did someone get that symbol there and who did it."

"It was probably the same person that ripped out the pages," Tau said confidently, "they probably replaced the pages with this modified page designed to show the symbol. As for who and why…it doesn't matter. What matters is that we have our lead."

"It'll take weeks to get to Omashu," Ryu told him.

"Well I guess we had better start moving then," Tau began to walk out with Ryu and Sorin behind him after they returned all of the books to the shelf.

When they emerged at the exit a minute later they found Arnook waiting for them. "Any luck?" He asked.

"Yeah, we found what we need. We are going to need tickets for the next passenger ship to depart for the Earth Kingdom," Tau said.

"That shouldn't be too hard to get," Arnook smiled as the guards checked the group of three for anything they might have took, "Follow me and let's see what I can do for you."

"Lead the way," Tau said, gesturing his hand forward.

_If it weren't for those pages, _he thought_, things couldn't have gone better._

* * *

><p>Katara laughed as she dashed down the icy slopes on her penguin. It was a few days after the party and everything was cleaned up. Things were back to normal now and she and Aang thought it was the perfect time for penguin sledding. It was something they would do rather often and to Katara's delight, she had gotten to the point where she could beat him. At first he would always win, but starting a few weeks ago, she was the one who would always have the lead and right now she was so far ahead of him that she was unable to see him when she looked back.<p>

She zigzagged around the chucks of ice that got in her way as she continued to slide down. She was almost at the end. She could see the bottom of the slope and just when she thought she was about to win, she saw a blur of orange and yellow to her right as she heard the sound of laughter pass her. A chuck of snow blew in her face and when her vision cleared she found she was at the bottom and her penguin had come to a stop. She got off of the animal and stood up to see her boyfriend grinning triumphantly at her.

"Cheater," she accused, hands on her hips, "You're not allowed to do that!"

"Do what?" he asked innocently, the grin not leaving his face, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh please Aang," Katara smiled, "you and me both know you used air bending to catch up."

"I did not!"

"You did to!"

They stared each other down and a couple of moments after, Aang shoulders slumped in defeat, "I still won."

"No, you're a cheater," Katara said as she walked up to him and poked his forehead, "I thought the Avatar was better than that."

"It was not cheating," he said defensively as he tried to find the right words, "It was…improvising."

"Improvising?" Katara raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah, you were too far ahead so I had to find a way to catch up," Aang said simply.

"Or you could have played fair and just admit that I won," Katara countered.

Aang stared at her for a few seconds before he smiled, "I think I like the winning better."

"Well then fine, if that is what you want," she grumbled before turning around and walked quickly away from him.

Aang blinked as he watched her go. Was she mad at him? He didn't want that. He was just playing with her; he didn't want her angry at him. "Katara wait," he cried out as he began to run after her.

Katara just ignored him and kept on walking as she smiled to herself. She wasn't really mad, part of her was a little amused that he still had that kind of playfulness in him, but if he was going to cheat then she was at least going to worry him a bit. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she quickly shrugged it off as she continued walking.

"Katara," she heard him beg, "I was joking. I'm sorry."

She kept on walking.

"Katara please stop. I'll do anything!"

She stopped and she slowly turned around as she tried to put on her best angry face.

Aang walked up to her and took hold of her hands cautiously, "I'm sorry Katara," he told her, staring into her eyes, "I was just playing with you. You won, I admit it. You are better than me at penguin sledding. Please don't be mad."

Katara saw the pleading look in his eye and she broke eye contact as she pretended to consider his apology. She was amused that he really thought that she was angry at him over something so trivial. After a few moments she looked back at him and smiled, "What can you do to make it up to me?"

"What do you want?"

"Well, we haven't had much alone time in the last couple of days…" she started grinning mischievously at him.

Aang smiled and he began to lean in to kiss her as he closed his eyes. He was expecting to feel her soft lips against his, but next thing he knew, a blast of water shot him a couple dozen feet away from her as he was knocked to the ground. He heard her laughing as she walked up and stared down at him.

"I forgive you," she said simply.

Aang stood up and brushed some snow off of his cloths, "Oh is that how it's going to be," he smiled.

Katara caught the glint in his eyes and she knew what was going to come next. She bent up a chuck of snow to block the small wave of water he threw at her. When no other attacks came she brought her snow shield down to see him bending water around himself in a defensive stance, "So since the penguin thing didn't work out, you think you can beat me at water bending," she laughed.

"Of course, I'm the Avatar. I can't lose," he teased.

"No cheating then," she told him before shooting out a stream of water at him.

He quickly used one hand to throw his own water out to block hers as he used his other hand to gather up some more water and shoot another stream back at her. She caught it and bended it around her body before launching it at him. Aang jumped to the side to avoid the attack before he bent a large chunk of snow towards her. Reacting quickly, she quickly took control of the snow beneath her and used it to create a pillar of ice to bring her up above the pile of snow that ended up crashing into the base of the pillar. Once the threat was cleared, she jumped off of the structure and unfroze it as she brought down a massive wave of water on top of him. Aang jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the wave but the force of its collision on the ground was enough to knock him down. He swiftly stood up and barely managed to block her follow up attack.

They continued for a few more minutes as they each tried to get an upper hand on the other. Aang tried his hardest but he could tell that Katara was slowly gaining an advantage on him. He blocked and attacked but she would always simply avoid it before turning his own attacks against him. After minutes of dueling Aang was knocked to the ground after unsuccessfully dodging five small streams of water she had sent at him. Aang groaned in defeat as he continued to lie in the snow. A few moments later he saw his girlfriend standing above him, grinning victoriously.

"So much for the Avatar being unable to lose," she laughed, breathing a little heavily.

"Yeah, well, I can't help it that I was going up against a powerful waterbending master," he smiled up at her

Katara smiled at the compliment, "You are a master to you know."

"You've always been the better one at waterbending though," Aang said sincerely, "And you always will be."

Katara looked into his eyes appreciatively and knelt down next to him, "So what now?"

Aang smiled and pulled her into his arms before flipping them over so he was hovering over her. His hands rested on the snowy ground on each side of her body to support himself so he wouldn't crush her. "I think," he whispered, staring down at her affectionately, "it's time for me to reward you for kicking my butt all day."

Katara giggled at the comment before she was silenced by his lips pressing against hers as one of his hands traced the contours of her body and the other still supporting most of his weight. She relaxed into the kiss and brought one of her hands up to rub the back of his head while her other one held him against her. They continued for a few more minutes and Aang used firebending to keep both of them warm as they lay on the cold ground.

When their lips broke apart Aang continued to hover over her protectively. Katara lay beneath him, feeling content to just let him admire her as she traced the arrow on the back of his head with her fingers. He smiled down lovingly at her, bringing one of his hands up to stroke her cheek softly. She closed her eyes and he could feel her chest rise up and down gently as her breathing slowed.

He continued to stare at her content look; the small smile that she wore, her closed eyes, and the way her hair framed her face as she lay beneath him brought on a feeling of possessiveness towards her, like she was his. To let him have such a dominant position like she allowed him to, and the fact that she was so relaxed, proved to him that she trusted him with everything she had. She trusted him to not hurt her and that made him feel the possessiveness that he felt. It was a feeling he got often when they were in this position and it made him happy to know that she continued to trust him as much as she did.

He bent down to kiss her forehead and when his head returned to its original position, he saw her beautiful blue eyes gazing up at him in a way that made him know that she knew what he was thinking. She knew what he was feeling towards her and the way she stared back at him let him know that she wanted that. Knowing what he felt towards her at that moment made her heart flutter.

"I love you Aang," she said softly.

Aang smiled as he moved his hand from her cheek to brush through her hair, "I love you to Kat."

Katara's eyes widened as she stared up at him questionably at what he had called her, "What?"

Aang broke eye contact, why did he have to say that and ruin the mood? Where had it come from anyway? "I…nothing, it just slipped out. I'm sorry." He quickly tried to sit up but her arms held him in place.

"No," she insisted gently, as she continued to hold him over her, not wanting him to leave her, "What was it you called me?"

"Um…Kat," he said, still not meeting her eyes.

Katara bit her lip in thought. She hadn't really minded him calling her that, she was just a little surprised. It wasn't something she was used to.

"I'm sorry," he repeated as he continued to look away from her, "I won't say that again. Ugh, I don't even know why I even said it in the first place."

Katara could tell that he was getting frustrated with himself. She reached her hand up to cup his cheek and turned his head towards her. Aang however, still refused to meet her gaze, he was embarrassed. _Why do I always have to mess things up in front of her, _he chided himself.

Still holding his cheek in her hand she spoke softly, "You don't have to be sorry Aang. I didn't mind it."

"Y-you didn't?" he asked quickly, finally looking back into her eyes.

Katara shook her head, "It just surprised me. No one has ever called me that before."

"So…," he asked cautiously, "is it okay if I call you that?"

This time it was her that broke eye contact as she thought about what he asked. She knew why he had called her that. It came from the possessiveness she had felt from him before; the same possessiveness that she had welcomed just minutes ago. _If I did allow him to call me that, would it be something that I would be able to get used to, _she asked herself. She knew she would, it would only be a matter of time. Besides, letting him call her that showed that she belonged to him, it was his own personal name that he had given her. That thought made up her mind.

"Yes," she said at last, smiling as she looked back up at him, "you can call me Kat."

"You sure?" Aang asked skeptically.

Katara nodded and placed her hand on the back of his head to pull him down into a kiss.

"Love you Kat," he murmured against her lips.

She giggled softly as she wrapped her arms around him to pull him closer.

_Yeah, _she thought to herself as she felt his tongue slide into her mouth, _it's definitely something I could get used to._

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><p><strong>I have always liked the 'Kat' nickname. I think its sweet. Don't know who originally came up with it but I know I have seen it a few times. For those of you that don't like it...don't worry, I won't be overusing it.<strong>

**If you have any questions, thoughts, criticisms...don't be afraid to review or PM me. Really, I like talking to other authors on the site**** and I really don't have anything better to do.**** Even if its a criticism, I am not crazy, as long as you keep it civilized, I don't mind.:)**_  
><em>


	6. Connection

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Avatar.**

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><p>A few days later, Aang and Katara walked back into their home after taking another long flight on Appa. They had decided to come back to the house early today since they had been adventuring out of the house quite a bit the past week and now Katara just felt like relaxing with Aang inside, but he had other plans.<p>

Before the party last week, he had promised himself that he would make a trip to the spirit world to talk with Roku as soon as he could. However, Katara had told him during the party that she wasn't worried anymore and Aang had held the trip to the Spirit World off. He would always prefer to just spend the day with Katara then to go to that other realm and that is what he had been doing. At Katara's suggestion to head in early though, he couldn't help but think that if there was going to be a time to go, this was it. Besides, he was the Avatar, checking up on the world was one of his duties and just because he wasn't needed at the moment it wasn't something that he should neglect. He just wanted to make sure Katara would be okay with it. He was certain that when she had made the suggestion to come back, she wasn't thinking that she would be left alone for hours while Aang was gone.

He felt a tug on his hand when he realized that Katara had begun to led him over to the couch but he quickly stopped them both causing Katara to turn back to him.

"What is it?" She asked with concern in her eyes.

Aang looked to the side a little regretfully, "I was just thinking that I need to make a quick trip to the spirit world that's all."

"What?" Katara's eyes widened in alarm. She hated it when he went there. Ever since he had told her there was no bending in the spirit world, she would always be worried sick about him when he left. No bending would mean that he was defenseless, and if for whatever reason a spirit decided that they wanted to hurt him in any way, she was sure that they wouldn't have a problem in doing so.

"I just feel like that I need to check up on some things," Aang explained, looking back at her. He didn't want to tell her it was because of what she had been worried about, that might have just reminded her of it all, but unfortunately, Katara quickly caught on.

"This has to do with what I was worried about last week doesn't it?" she questioned crossing her arms.

Aang looked down to the ground, _so much for not saying anything._

"Aang, you don't need to worry about me now. I haven't thought about that ever since the party," Katara told him.

Aang lifted his head back up, "I know, but as the Avatar it is my job to protect the world," he started, "I'm not needed right now but that doesn't mean I should just forget about it. The spirits watch over what happens in the world sometimes so I was just going to go talk to Roku. I won't be long."

Katara sighed and looked away from him before she felt his hand on her cheek.

"I'll be fine," he turned her head back towards him.

She reached up to remove his hand from her cheek but instead she kept it firm grasp on it, "I just worry about you when you go there," she told him earnestly, "If something happened, I wouldn't be there to help you."

"Well then it's a good thing nothing will happen then," Aang smiled jokingly, but frowned when his girlfriend let go of his hand and turned away from him in frustration.

"I'm not kidding Aang," her body tensed up and her fists clenched, "I'm serious!"

Seeing that she was a bit stressed out and frustrated, Aang walked slowly up to her to hug her from behind. He rested his head on her shoulder and nuzzled the crook of her neck, loving the feeling of her hair brushing against his face. She relaxed in his embrace, bringing her hands up to grasp the arms that were holding her around her stomach and they stayed quiet for a few moments as Aang waited to make sure she was calm.

"This isn't what I had in mind when I suggested that we relax in the house," she murmured.

"I know," he whispered softly in her ear, "but this is part of who I am Kat, you know that. I always come back don't I? It never takes me more than a couple of hours and it will be no different this time, I promise."

Katara giggled to herself and bit her lip gently when she heard him call her Kat again. Sure she had gotten more used to it over the past couple of days, but it still made her smile. Once she got past that little detail, she thought about the rest of what Aang had said. She knew he was right, he was the Avatar and she had to accept that he would have to put himself in danger from time to time and some of those times, she knew she wouldn't be able to help him.

"Promise we can relax after you come back?" she turned her head back to look at him.

"Promise," he said, tilting his head slightly to kiss her lips.

They held the contact for a few moments, swaying back and forth slightly, before Katara broke the kiss and turned back around to face him.

"Let's just get this over with," she sighed.

Aang nodded before turning to walk up the stairs and into his room with Katara right behind him. He took a seat on his bed in a meditative position facing the wall when he heard Katara sitting down a few feet away.

"You don't have to hang out here you know," he smiled and looked at her, "There is no need to sit here and worry."

"You've told me that before," she said sternly, "I will say the same thing that I said then. You are completely vulnerable while you are in there and I am not just going to leave and let someone walk in here and take you. So, I am staying here to look out for you. Don't try to tell me not to."

"No one's going to take me, Kat," he laughed slightly, but at the same time it warmed his heart to know that she was really that protective of him, "we don't have any enemies here."

Katara leaned back on her hands and raised her eyebrows at him, "Aang?"

"Yeah?"

"Just humor me okay?"

Aang laughed again, "Can do."

With that, he closed his eyes and brought his knuckles together. He began to feel himself relax as his breathing slowed and his heart turned to a calm and steady beat as he slowly began to feel a weight being lifted off his shoulders. He was only vaguely aware of the girl that was only a few feet away from him as he felt himself being pulled away from his own body.

Katara watched in silence throughout the process. She knew that he preferred silence when he tried to do this, and despite her displeasure of him going into the spirit world, she respected his preferences. She gasped softly when his eyes and tattoos suddenly glowed a gentle white light and she knew that he was in the Spirit World. She laid down on the bed, using her arm to prop her head up, and she waited.

* * *

><p>Tau stood with his arms resting on top of the outer rim of the Watertribe ship that was bringing Sorin, Ryu, and himself to the Earth kingdom. The ship was not nearly as big or as crowded as the one they had used to reach the Northern Watertribe but it was big enough for their needs. There were a couple dozen other passengers but it was night now and most people were asleep. Tau though never liked sleeping much. Unless he was truly exhausted, he didn't see the point. As he saw it, all sleeping did was put you in a vulnerable position so someone else can come stab you in the back. It happened to many times in the Fire Nation prison that had held him for over a decade. He would sleep only to wake up and find himself in great pain. The guards at the prison didn't really care, they regularly used prisoners as punching bags to pass the time and it was something that him and Sorin had endured together. Sorin though, was still able to sleep at night. How he was able to, Tau had no idea but it was something that he was a little jealous of. Tau simply could not find the comfort in letting sleep take over and when he would completely exhaust himself, he would find the most isolated place he could and sleep for a few hours. There were no isolated places on the ship though, none that made Tau comfortable anyway, and so for now he just stood and looked over the ocean as he thought back on the last few days.<p>

He had to admit, he had found himself a little frustrated when he had seen that the last pages of Kuruk's Journal had been ripped out. They had solved that quickly though and after that, Arnook had been very helpful in getting them tickets for the next ship to depart from the Earth Kingdom. The ship had left the day after and they had been at sea for the past couple of days now.

What they had found in Kuruk's shrine though had made everything seem more real. Before, Tau had to admit that he could very well just be chasing a myth, but what Kuruk had mentioned on the last section of the journal before the pages were ripped out made it clear to Tau that these spirits were very real. They were just waiting to be found and Tau knew that it was only a matter of time before that would become reality.

"You thinking about what we found?"

Tau turned around to see Ryu walking up to stand beside him.

"Everything just seems more real now," Tau voiced his thoughts as he looked back out over the ocean, "Before a few days ago, these spirits were nothing more than a myth. Kuruk's Journal proves otherwise."

"I know what you mean," Ryu agreed, "It's too bad we still don't really know anything about them though."

"That will change."

"Hmhm," Ryu nodded in agreement.

The two remained silent for a few moments before Ryu spoke up again.

"You know, things might be easier if we get some more help. If we break the rest of the Dai Li out of prison," he suggested, "they will follow you."

"I know they would," Tau said, "but we are not going to do that."

"Why not?"

Tau sighed, "I know that you want to see the rest of your fellow agents released, but having to travel in a big group would just complicate things. It would hold us back, slow us down. We can't have that."

Ryu thought for a few moments before bowing his head slightly, "Understood Tau."

"Besides," Tau added a little bitterly, "Large groups like that will only hurt you in the end. There will always be someone in it that you cannot trust. I had to learn that the hard way and it is something that I prefer to not get involved with again."

"You never did tell me what happened to you before," Ryu told him, noticing his leader's resentment towards having a bigger group.

"Sorin doesn't know the whole story either," Tau said, "I will tell you the same thing I told him."

"And what's that?"

"I was betrayed," Tau shrugged, "I decided to try to help a group of people against the Fire Nation and I paid the price for it."

"What were you trying to do exactly?" Ryu asked, trying to get a more detailed answer.

"It doesn't matter," Tau shook his head, "what matters is that by the time it was all over, I was captured while the people that I had trusted left me to rot."

"That doesn't explain much," Ryu said.

"It wasn't supposed to," Tau said simply.

The two stood in another silence for a few minutes as the gentle night breeze blew around them and after a while Tau decided to speak again.

"During the One Hundred Year War," Tau started, "people always talked about how the Fire Nation were the bad guys. How they were the ones that were manipulating and killing innocents. The truth is, it wasn't just the Fire Nation. The Watertribe's and Earth Kingdom were just the same. They were just more discrete about it."

Tau turned to look at Ryu.

"You were a part of it," he continued, "The Dai Li; manipulating and controlling the people of Ba Sing Se. You had your reasons though, you wanted to keep order, but do you think the Dai Li was the only group putting their power on people? Before my capture I saw many Earth Kingdom towns and there were countless soldiers that would abuse their power to hold control over them. In some towns, some citizens feared the Earth Kingdom soldier's almost as much as the Fire Nation. Unlike your Dai Li though, those soldiers didn't have a reason. They just did it because they were able to, and what happened to me showed that the Watertribe was no different. We were as much of a villain as the Fire Nation was, we weren't any better. Everyone is just caught up in their own selfish interests now. The new peace between the nations doesn't make it any different. They are still just trying to manipulate each other to better themselves."

Tau looked back to the ocean, "That is why we are doing what we are doing now Ryu. With the spirits help, they could assist us in restoring the world away from that. We could set things right again. These spirits are ancient. The fact that even the Avatars didn't know about them shows that they are well hidden. Unlike all of the other spirits you hear about, these unknown spirits may not even realize the state of the world and how clouded and dark it has become. If we can find them and show them the selfishness that the world plagues itself with now, they might be willing to help us change the world for the better. They might have the power to make the changes necessary. "

"You really think they can?" Ryu asked.

Tau thought for a few moments, "I do Ryu, and after some of the things I have seen people do, it is important to me that we succeed…we have to."

* * *

><p>Aang took in his surrounding as he came into the spirit world. The difference between it and the physical world always amazed him. The features were similar, there were swamps, deserts, and forests, and it all had an eerie but familiar feel to it. Perhaps it had to do with the weird spirits that were running around the familiar landscape that gave Aang the strange feeling but he was not sure if he would ever get used to it. As it was now though, where he came in seemed more like a desert and that was all he could see; sandy hills for miles on end. Luckily though, he didn't have to go anywhere to talk to Roku. Roku would come to him, as he always did when Aang needed his help.<p>

Until then, Aang just wandered aimlessly around the desert like area, taking in the bizarre spirits that he saw every now and then. Finally though, after what seemed like half an hour, Aang sensed that Roku was near. Sure enough, the young Avatar turned around to see his previous incarnation climbing off of his spirit guide.

"It's good to see you again Aang," Roku said as he walked up to Aang, "You haven't visited here in so long."

"Well there hasn't really been any need to," Aang said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, "things have been working out pretty good."

"So I have heard, now tell me," Roku said, "what is it that you need? I doubt you just came here for fun."

"I just felt like I should check up on things, you know? I don't really hear about the rest of the world that much down in the Southern Watertribe," Aang explained, "You have some idea about what is going on in the world right?"

Roku nodded, "I hear things from other spirits, we don't really hear about the smaller things though."

"So what do you know?" the younger Avatar asked, "Is anything major going on?"

"Not anything different then what has been happening the past couple years," Roku assured him, "Like I said though, I wouldn't know about anything of a small scale but as far as I and the rest of the Spirits can tell, the world in relative peace thanks to you."

Aang breathed a sigh of relief, part of him had been a little nervous that Katara's gut feeling had been right and something was going wrong.

"What is it that made you think of this though," Roku asked curiously.

"It's Katara…"

"Ah, the water bending girl," Roku said, recognizing her as the girl that his incarnation was deeply in love with.

Aang nodded and smiled a little, "She was just worried about a week ago that something was going to go wrong. One of those gut feelings, I just figured I would come and ask."

Roku nodded understandingly before speaking, "There is something else though…isn't there?"

Aang looked down in thought, remembering the nightmare Katara had told him about and the dark figure that was in it. "Well, there was one other thing," he said.

Roku tilted his head towards him, letting him know that he was listening.

"She had a nightmare a week ago to," Aang started, "And she said that she saw something in it that she didn't recognize. Some kind of dark figure, she couldn't really tell me anything else. I know that it might just be a normal nightmare but something felt weird about it to me. It sounded like it was similar to a vision but only Avatar's can have those, right?"

"For the most part, yes," said Roku, "but some partners of Avatars can have visions also…if conditions allow them to.

"What do you mean?"

Roku smiled, "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Aang asked confused, furrowing his eyebrows together.

"About your connection to the waterbender," Roku told him simply.

"I know about my connection to her," Aang replied, "She's my girlfriend, the love of my life."

"Your relationship with her goes far deeper than that Aang," Roku laughed a little at Aang's simple interpretation.

Aang remained silent, waiting him to elaborate.

"It doesn't happen often," Roku explained, "but every now and then an Avatar forms a deep spiritual bond with the one that he or she falls in love with. It has to go both ways though; her devotion to you must be the same as your own devotion to her and once that bond is formed, nothing can break it."

"Wait," Aang stopped Roku for a second, "So you're telling me that I am spiritually connected with Katara?"

"Yes, although it is not fully complete yet however," Roku began, "Both of you have not known about this bond you share, but it has been present for quite a while now. You have felt it before, quite recently actually…when you were dancing with her at that party."

Aang thought back to that night and remembered how he had felt like he could actually feel her love for him, "So that is what it was, I was able to sense her emotions…is that what the bond does for us?"

"Among other things, yes and it would make it possible for her to have a vision. I wouldn't worry about that if the vision hasn't come back again though. It is most likely just a nightmare," Roku assured before he continued to explain, "I wouldn't be able to tell you everything the spiritual bond does however, that is something for you to find out for yourselves, but you won't be able to do that while the bond is not complete."

"What do you mean?"

"You two share the bond, because of your feelings for each other, but because you have not actually completed it, the connection is not as strong as it should be. It only becomes noticeable very rarely and when it does show, the two of you do not recognize it for what it is. For you and her to be completely bonded, you must complete the bond yourselves."

"So how do we do that," Aang questioned.

"The most common way for Airbending Avatar's is meditation with each other," Roku said, "You must let everything go though. No lies can be held between the two of you and no secrets. You must be completely open to each other and when you meditate, let you spirits reach out. It will make more sense when you decide to do it. Trust me; you will know what to do when the time comes."

Aang smiled in thought, he loved what Roku was telling him, to be that close to Katara, to be bonded with her, was something the young Avatar had only thought of and now he had a chance to make it reality. But…"What if she doesn't want that?" Aang asked sadly, not wanting to think about that scenario.

"Then things will simply stay as they are now," Roku told him, "if you do finish the bond though, it will be stronger, and those emotions you felt from her the other night will become something normal between you two. You need to tell her though that she will have to be completely open with you and that any secrets she has will be quite hard to keep from you once the bond is formed. Your spirits will become one, two half's of the same whole, and you need to tell her that so she understands the implications. Don't trick her into doing this, no matter how much you want it."

Aang shook his head, "I could never trick her like that. Thanks for explaining Roku…I should probably head back," Aang smiled, suddenly really wanting to see Katara.

"Of course Aang."

Aang began to walk away but then he turned around a few moments later, "Roku?"

The older spirit looked at him.

"Were you spiritually bonded?"

"No," Roku said, "Before you, the last Avatar with the ability to do it was Avatar Kuruk. Like I said, it is very rare and requires an enormous amount of trust from both people involved."

Aang nodded as he turned back to leave and he decided that that is what he wanted to do for Katara and his anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks and hopefully Katara would want to become spiritually bonded to.

_I can only hope, _he thought.

* * *

><p>Sokka finally got back home late at night after he had been fishing. It was something that he was a little better at now then how he had been before but it was still something that he could improve on and it wasn't like he had anything else better to do. After catching a few fish though, he had decided to head home.<p>

Sokka had no idea where his dad was, he was probably meeting with the council, but he expected Aang and Katara to still be out and about somewhere outside of the city like they had been over the past few days. So it was a surprise for him when he walked upstairs and saw his sister sitting in Aang's room with her back to him and she appeared to be looking at something. He walked into the room and saw what she was staring at; Aang, who in a meditative position on the bed, tattoos glowing, and Sokka quickly realized where he was; the spirit world.

"What happened, did you bore him already?" he laughed.

Katara turned around quickly at the sound of her brothers taunting voice and she glared at him, "Haha, very funny," she said sarcastically.

Sokka moved to sit down on the bed a few feet away from her, "What's got you in a bad mood?"

She sighed, "Oh, you know I just don't like it when he is in there."

"I still don't get why you worry so much. What could possibly happen to him," Sokka asked.

Katara stared at her brother and raised one eyebrow at him, "Aang has obviously never told you much about the spirit world."

"You're right, he didn't," Sokka agreed, "But he's the Avatar, I don't think he would have much trouble against a spirit."

"Shows what you know," Katara countered, "he can't bend in there and there are quite a few spirits that don't like the Avatar."

"He can't bend?"

Katara nodded and looked at Sokka a little weirdly, "Yeah…he's told you that before."

"He did?" he questioned, "I don't remember that."

Katara shook her head before looking back at Aang, "Of course you wouldn't."

Sokka thought back and tried to remember when Aang might have told him that and after a few minutes it finally came to him, "Oh that's right, he told me that when he was also telling me about the spirit that is so strong that it can tear things in half with its bare hands. I also kind of remember that it didn't like Aang that much. Man, if Aang had to go up against that thing he would be…"

"Sokka!" Katara cut him off sternly, "you're not helping!"

Sokka quickly shut up and saw that his sister was actually a little worried, "Okay, okay," he held up his hands in front of him, "I'll just go now. I probably should go cook the fish I caught anyway."

Katara watched him go silently; deciding not to comment on her brother's horrid cooking abilities, before she turned back to Aang sitting just a few feet from her. She sighed and wished he would just come out already. _How long could it possibly take to ask Roku if there was some rebellion starting up somewhere, _she thought.

She didn't have to wait much longer though. A few minutes later, her boyfriend's tattoos stopped glowing and she saw him move a little. Katara quickly took his face in her hands and brought her lips crashing down on his. Aang eyes shot open in surprise as he was unable to take in his surroundings but he quickly relaxed when he saw that it was Katara that was pushing him to lie down on the bed. She straddled him as she broke the kiss and placed many smaller kisses down his neck before laying her head on his shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What took you so long?" She murmured against him, feeling his arms wrap around her.

"There was just something else that Roku wanted to talk to me about," Aang said, holding her a little tighter.

Katara lifted her head up to see him smiling at her, "What is it?"

"It's nothing bad," he shook his head, still smiling as he reached up to brush some of her hair back behind her ear, "you'll find out."

"Why can't you tell me now?" she tilted her head at him.

"Because it's a surprise for our anniversary," he leaned up to kiss her forehead.

Katara gave a small smile before resting her head back on his shoulder, and she felt him turn his head and nuzzle the top of hers. They stayed in that position for a few minutes when Katara spoke up.

"Our anniversary is not for another couple of weeks."

"I know," he murmured into her hair.

"It's going to be a long wait," she complained.

"It'll be worth it though," Aang told her. _At least I hope so, _he added silently_, if Katara doesn't…_Aang quickly stopped that thought_, she will want to, I know it, _he assured himself_._

After a few minutes Katara suddenly got up off of him and began to undress down to her bindings.

"You want to go to bed now?" Aang asked sitting up.

"You owe me," she replied, as she walked over to him, "you promised we can relax when you came back and it's already late. Can I stay in here tonight?"

Before Aang could answer, Katara grabbed the bottom of his robes and pulled them off of him, tossing them to the side. He blushed when she planted her hands on his bare chest and kissed him softly on the lips, pushing him back down on the bed. Instead of climbing on top of him like last time though, she broke the kiss and pulled the covers back. Aang, coming out of a daze he had found himself in, climbed under the covers with her and pulled them back up to their shoulders as the couple snuggled against each other.

"Sokka is going to be mad," Aang whispered, "he wasn't too happy when he found us for the second time last week."

"Let him be mad then. He doesn't have control over our relationship; we do," Katara declared before pretending to get up and adding teasingly, "But if you really want me to leave…"

Aang quickly pulled her back down beside him and wrapped one arm tightly around her shoulders and the other around her waist, "I think I would rather just let him be mad," he smiled.

Katara laughed softly before resting her forehead against him as she stroked his sides with her hands, staring into his deep grey eyes. Aang returned her gaze just as steadily as his hand slowly made its way from her cheek down to her hip. He could see the change in her eyes, the slight passion that brought her lips back to his. Katara's hands shot back up to his head pulling him forward. Aang enjoyed these moments with her and now that he knew that they were connected, it was different somehow, more intimate. He could feel her innermost being radiating her need for him, her love, and her protectiveness and he knew he felt the same for her. Aang decided to change positions slightly as he lifted himself up with his free arm. As soon as he moved he noticed something different with the way the candle light touched her. It flickered softly near the bed but it left a sparkle in her eyes. Katara noticed instantly when these subtle changes happened because they happened a lot. He would stop in the middle of kissing her to just admire her; so much so that it always made her blush.

"You're so beautiful, do you know that?" he told her softly, smiling.

Katara smiled back up at him, cheeks red, "I never really noticed."

Aang smirked at her, "Don't ever let anyone tell you different."

Katara's hand found his cheek and he leaned his head into hers. A gentle prod brought him slowly back to her as he placed both arms on either side of her. Their faces were inches apart as they caressed each other sweetly. After pulling him in for another tender kiss, Katara adjusted the covers so they covered both of their shoulders as Aang lay back down beside her.

"I love you Katara," he whispered, taking her back into his arms.

"I love you to Aang," she sighed, holding him closer.

Their foreheads touched once again as they let their breaths mingle, their mouths never being more than a few inches apart. After a while of just laying there and holding each other, Katara finally began to grow tired and noticed that Aang was practically asleep. She shifted slightly and tilted her head up to softly kissing his forehead.

"Goodnight Aang," She whispered.

"Goodnight Kat," he murmured softy, barely awake.

Katara smiled affectionately before she snuggled closer to him; holding him in her arms as she let sleep overtake her.

* * *

><p><strong>Not much to say about this chapter except that the spiritual connection will play an important role latter on. Hope you all liked it though.<strong>


	7. Anniversary

**This is the longest chapter in the fic so far.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar...but I do own Tau, Ryu, and Sorin. They're mine.**

* * *

><p>It had taken them another couple of weeks but they had finally arrived at Omashu. Tau and his two companions dismounted the wagon, which was being pulled by a few Ostrich Horses, that they had been riding in for the past couple of days. They had gotten it by hiring someone where they had made port to take them to Omashu. Tau and Ryu waited while Sorin paid the driver of the wagon, before finally turning to walk down the walkway that would lead them into the city gates. As they walked down the path, Tau noticed a large platform to his right that was jutting out from the top of the wall surrounding the city and it appeared to be holding three Fire Nation Airships.<p>

"I wonder what they have those there for."

Sorin and Ryu turned to see what their leader was looking at.

"They must be having some political meeting," Ryu guessed.

The group then remained silent as they reached the massive doorway that would allow them into the city. There were few people standing at the entrance as guards and just as what happened at the Northern Watertribe, the group of three was halted.

"State your business here," one of the guards said as the other guards stood in a defensive Earth bending stance.

Tau held up his hands in front of him as a sign of peace, "We just have some friends that we would like to visit inside of the city," he lied calmly, "we were only planning on staying for a day or two."

"What are the names of your friends?" the guard crossed his arms.

"Wang Bersing and his wife, Shiala," Tau said, making up the names quickly.

The guard eyed him speculatively, "We are going to have to check you and your companion's belongings."

"As you can see we don't really have all that much," Tau responded, gesturing to a couple of small pouches that Sorin was carrying, which only held some money, "But do what you need to do."

The guard made a waving type motion and a couple of other guards walked over and began to search the pouches. One thing Tau noticed though is that they seemed to be a lot more careful and detailed in the search then they had used to be when Tau had been here before his capture.

"Is there a reason for having such tight security?" Tau turned to look back at the guard that had been questioning them.

"Fire Lord Zuko is meeting here with King Bumi over some trade agreements," he explained, "I know it is inconvenient but we have to tighten up security to keep everyone safe when there are big political gatherings going on. You never know when some assassin will attempt to get inside the city."

_That explains why the three airships are here, _Tau thought.

"However it is," the guard continued after the other guards seemed satisfied, "you are clear to come through."

The guards moved out of the way as Tau, Sorin, and Ryu walked through the big earthen door that was opening at its sides. Tau looked up to see that there were a few Earth benders that stood at the top of the massive wall of the city and saw that they were the ones opening it. Once they cleared the door, it closed behind them and they were now free to roam the city.

They walked around for a little while before Tau stopped, "Ryu?"

The Earthbender halted and turned to face Tau.

"You probably know how this city works better then Sorin and I right?"

Ryu nodded, knowing what Tau was going ask him next, "I haven't been here before but as I have said, I used to be well informed. The archives are this way, follow me."

Tau nodded as Ryu led him and Sorin through the many crowded streets of the city as they worked their way up to the higher areas. After what must have been half an hour of walking, Ryu suddenly stopped at an edge of a building and peaked around the corner. He turned around to where Tau and Sorin had stopped behind him.

"Okay, the entrance to the archives is right around this corner," he said, "There are two guards though and you should probably know that only government officials are allowed in. They won't just let us walk in there like we were able to in the Northern Watertribe."

"So what," Sorin said, turning to Tau, "Do we fight our way in?"

Tau was silent for a few moments before saying, "Let's just play it by ear." The Waterbender then walked around the corner and towards the entrance. Thankfully, Tau noted, there were not any people around the entrance besides the two guards. They were in an isolated part of the city, mostly where all the government workers stayed. Sorin and Ryu exchanged glances before following Tau up to the guards.

Unlike the guards at the gate, these guards seemed to be a lot more relaxed. One was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed while the other was sitting on a small bench. However, once they saw the trio approach them, they quickly became alert and blocked their path.

"We're going into the archives," Tau declared simply.

One of the guards laughed, "Who do you think you are? Government officials only buddy, I suggest you turn around and walk away."

"That's not an option," Tau said, staring the guard in the eye.

"Well then you better make it an option," the guard demanded unfazed, "You're not coming in."

"I am not giving you a choice," Tau said steadily, "You either let us through or you'll be gone before you can even react."

Both guards quickly got into a fighting stance as the guard that had yet to speak tried one more time to convince Tau to turn back, "Look we are just doing our jobs. You are not allo-"

Tau didn't want to hear any more of it. Before the guard could finish the sentence, Tau quickly drew two whip like streams of water from the air and swiftly stabbed them through the chest of both guards after he froze a sharp blade at the end of each stream. The guards didn't even register what had happened before they had been killed. _Too bad they couldn't be as obedient as the Watertribe guards were, _Tau thought as he evaporated each whip back into the air. He carefully walked over the bodies of the guards and as if it was an unspoken procedure between the group, Sorin and Ryu picked each body up and dragged them across the ground to a nearby alley before turning back and following Tau into the archives.

The first thing they noticed was that the archives were massive. It was an enormous, dimly lit, room filled with documents and anything else important that Omashu could get its hands on. The room was about 3 stories tall with the top two floors simply outlining the edges of the bottom one, leaving a big open space in the middle of those two floors. As the group looked around further, they realized that it would be a lot harder to find the missing pages than what they had originally thought.

"I know I said this at the North Pole and I will say it again," Sorin said, "There is no way we are going to be able to look through all of this before someone realizes that we are in here."

Though he didn't want to admit it, Tau had to agree, "We are going to have to move fast then. Split up and shout if you find anything."

Sorin and Ryu nodded as they quickly spread out to different parts of the room. Tau watched them go before turning around and going to his own section. He made his way up to the top floor and began to search for the missing pages. Problem was, he wasn't too sure about what category to find them under. The files in the archives seemed to be sorted out by subject and Tau had first thought to find a section about the Spirit World but to his frustration, there was no Spirit World section.

_Why would they have one? They would have no use for it, _Tau thought. He knew though that the missing pages of Kuruk's Journal must be somewhere in the large room and he wasn't going to give up.

The search lasted for a couple more hours but to no avail. The three men had walked down aisle after aisle in their respective areas but they found nothing pertaining to the spirit world.

Tau sighed, _maybe Sorin was right and the missing pages were just destroyed and that symbol that had been left in the Journal was just put there to lead someone on a fool's errand._

Suddenly, several fire blasts echoed throughout the room and Tau quickly ran over to the edge of the third floor to look over the railing and down to Sorin when something caught his eye. Tau quickly stopped to look at what it was and was surprised to find that there was a group of shelves off in a far isolated corner that were completely empty, like whatever files they had contained had been moved. Tau narrowed his eyes in thought; _Maybe the missing pages were part of that move. Maybe they really aren't here anymore._

"Tau!"

He was taken out of his thoughts by the sound of Sorin's voice yelling for him. Tau walked over to the railing where he was originally going and peered over the edge to look down at Sorin.

The firebender spotted Tau looking down at him, "We might have a little problem here."

"What happened?" Tau yelled down, his voice echoing.

"A few of the city authorities came in here," Sorin yelled back, "They must have been here to switch out shifts with those other guards. I took care of them but they seemed to know that someone was here, and I think they might have sent someone to alert the rest of the authorities."

"Perfect," Tau sarcastically muttered to himself, "They must have found the dead guards."

Tau stopped to think for a second, if the missing pages were moved, then they were just wasting time here now. If the pages were still here though then this was their only shot at getting them. However, Tau knew they would have to leave now. If Sorin was right, they would be having an army of Earthbenders bearing down on them.

"Ryu, meet me down at Sorin's position," he yelled.

"Already ahead of you," he heard Ryu's voice echo back from the second level.

Tau quickly ran down the spiral stair case that connected each floor and reached the bottom to find Sorin and Ryu waiting for him.

"So what now?" Sorin asked.

"We're leaving," Tau said.

"What?" Ryu protested, "We don't have the pages yet. We may still have a few more minutes!"

"We can't risk it," Tau shook his head, "we need to get out of here now. It might be worthless to keep searching here anyway."

"Why?"

Tau was about to answer when he faintly heard a horn sound an alarm throughout the city.

"We don't have time for an explanation," Tau said, "I will explain everything later; we need to get out of here now before anyone gets here."

The trio quickly began walking towards the exit as the sound of the horns grew louder as they came closer to it.

Tau didn't know how much time they had but he knew that even if they made it out of the archives, it would be even harder to get out of the city. They would get out though, he knew it no matter how difficult it would be, and Tau laughed a little to himself.

_This ought to be interesting._

* * *

><p>Katara gradually awoke, feeling someone's arms around her. She opened her eyes to see Aang sleeping beside her and smiled when she remembered what day it was. It was their anniversary; it had been two years since she had kissed him on the balcony in Ba Sing Se and it was the one thing in her life that she could easily say that she would never regret doing.<p>

She sighed contentedly as she scooted a little closer to the boy next to her, resting her head on his bare chest. Katara could feel his heart beating against her ear and the steady rhythm of it brought a peace to her that almost made her fall right back to sleep. She forced herself to stay up though, she didn't want to sleep the whole day away and she knew that Aang would be waking up soon.

After they had slept together following Aang's trip to the Spirit world a couple of weeks ago, they had started doing that every night. Sokka had complained at first of course, but he shut up when his sister had begun to express her frustration at him and when he realized their dad didn't seem to have a problem with it. She could tell that her brother was still opposed to it though, but Katara guessed that the main reason why her brother resented it so much was because he was a little jealous. Aang was there for her, Suki was not there for him. She hoped that things would lighten up for her brother but she quickly threw those somewhat depressing thoughts out of her mind, wanting to just relax a bit in Aang's arms.

One of the things she loved most about sleeping with him, was the warm comforting feeling she got in the morning when she woke up. She loved just being able to cuddle with him and the couple would often lie in bed for half an hour once they awoke to just hold each other.

Still laying against his chest to listen to his heartbeat, Katara thoughts began to drift again, thinking about her boyfriend's behavior over the last couple of weeks. After he came back from the spirit world, he seemed to want to always be very close to her. Sure, they had always been close; almost never leaving each other's sides but Aang had started to do that in a literal sense. He seemed to always be holding her hand, hugging her, scooting his chair closer to her during dinner and those types of things. Katara didn't mind it, if fact, she had been encouraging it but she did wonder what had caused his small change in behavior though. She knew he had always been protective of her, just how she was with him, but now when she would look into his eyes; she would see something else there. The way he looked at her made her feel precious, loved, and above all else, desired. It was something that begun to always make her feel a little flustered under his gaze but at the same time she didn't want those newfound feelings for her to change. There were actually some moments over the past two weeks where she felt as though she could feel his own spirit inside of him, and the love and affection that it held for her. She didn't know what had brought about these changes but she believed that she would find out today. Aang said he had a surprise for their anniversary and Katara had begun to believe that these new feelings of possessiveness and belonging had something to do with it.

Suddenly, Katara felt Aang stir next to her and she felt a pair of lips against her forehead. She tilted her head up to meet those lips with her own and she felt his arms tighten around her.

After a few moments he pulled back a little and brought one of his hands up to run his fingers along her cheek, "Good morning."

She smiled, "Good morning to you to," she said softly, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck, "Happy Anniversary."

Aang only held her a little tighter and leaned his head against the side of hers; rocking her back and forth in his arms as one of his hands twirled a few strands of her hair around his fingers.

A few minutes later, she reluctantly pulled away from him and sat up on the bed, "We should probably get going now. We don't want to sleep away our whole anniversary."

Aang hummed in agreement and sat up next to her as he reached for a comb that was sitting on the nightstand beside the bed. Seeing what he was doing, Katara turned around so her back faced him and she felt him begin to brush the comb through her hair.

After sleeping together for a couple of weeks the couple had begun to learn each other's morning habits and after seeing Katara spending many minutes to brush her hair each morning, Aang had offered to do it for her. The way he saw it, it was another opportunity to feel the silky thick hair that he loved so much and at the same time, she would be able to sit and relax while he was working out the tangled bundles of hair.

Katara remained mostly quiet throughout the process. Every now and then she would feel a slight tug which let her know that Aang had worked out yet another knot but thankfully, Aang was always careful not to pull to hard on her hair. After a few minutes the tugging stopped and she heard him set the comb back down on the nightstand before she felt him nuzzle his head against the back of her neck, planting a soft kiss there. She smiled and turned around to face him.

"So what are we doing today?" She asked softly.

"Well what do you want to do?" He answered with another question as he took her hands in his and stroked the back of them with his thumbs.

Katara stayed silent for a few moments as she thought, "Well…why don't we go try to find the iceberg that you were trapped in?"

Aang looked at her a little quizzically, "No offense but…what would be the point in that?"

She shrugged, "I guess it just marks the beginning for the both of us and I just thought it would be nice to go back to the start of it all."

"When you put it that way," he told her, squeezing her hands lightly, "it does sound like a good idea."

"You think so?"

He nodded and leaned forward to give her a brief kiss before getting off the bed to get dressed. Katara followed his example and walked over to the small dresser that she had begun to put her own cloths in since she was sleeping in Aang' s room. She put on her traditional watertribe garb and she looked over to see that Aang had put on his normal airbender clothes. Once the couple was dressed, they walked hand in hand down to the kitchen to have a quick bite to eat and saw that Hakoda was sitting at the table and eating something of his own.

"I was wondering when you two were going to get up," he laughed when he saw the couple walked down the stairs.

"Give us a break dad, today is supposed to be our lazy day," Katara smiled, leading Aang over to the table to sit down while she went to grab some food that Hakoda had lying on the counter.

Hakoda smiled at his daughter, "Well if I were you, I would stop the laziness and hurry out of here before Sokka comes back."

"Why?" Aang asked, exchanging glances with Katara as she sat down next to him, handing him some food, "Is he mad at us or something?"

"No I don't think it is you," Hakoda assured, "I think it's…"

"Suki?" Katara interrupted.

Hakoda nodded, "I think with your anniversary being today, it just makes him a little resentful. So you might just want to stay away from him for now."

"I wonder why this has been bugging him so much recently," Aang wondered aloud, as he began to eat so fruits that Katara had given him.

"It's just separation anxiety. Separation does that to you after a while and it has been six months. I didn't like having to be away from Kya when I had to leave to fight in the war years ago," Hakoda said.

This had Katara looking at her father weirdly as she struggled to get the words of her mouth, "But…mom was…dead… by the time you did that."

Hakoda shook his head and smiled sadly, "I wasn't talking about that. You probably don't remember it since you were only about four at the time but I had left to go fight in the war for a couple of months. I decided to never do that again though. The separation upset your mother a lot and I promised her that I wouldn't leave again."

"I never knew," Katara whispered looking down.

"Why did you leave though?" Aang asked politely, putting his hand over Katara's to comfort her a little.

"The Earth Kingdom had sent a message around the world requesting some help and I decided to bring some warriors to their aid," Hakoda said, "I don't want to get into it though. This is supposed to be a happy day for you two and I don't want to ruin it."

"It's okay Dad," Katara said, looking up at him, "you aren't ruining anything."

"At least not yet I'm not," Hakoda joked, "I'll leave you two alone."

Aang watched Hakoda as he walked back upstairs, he guessed he probably had some messages from the other nations lying around in his bedroom that needed to be taken care of. Once he was gone though, Aang turned back to Katara who had just finished eating, "Ready to go," he asked, standing up and extending his hand out to her.

"Always," she smiled and took his hand and allowed him to lead her out the door.

* * *

><p>"Come on Appa lets go!"<p>

The sky bison let out a loud groan as Sokka pulled at his reins trying to get him out of his shelter that he was laying in. Momo was lying curled up on the ground a few feet away watching the struggle between the watertibe warrior and the bison, who didn't seem to want to go anywhere.

"Appa, come on. Aang does not have to come with us!" Sokka pulled the reins tighter.

"I don't have to come with you where?"

Sokka dropped the reins and swiftly turned around to see his sister and the airbender walking towards him. He rolled his eyes, "What are you two doing here?"

"We were going to take Appa out for a little bit," Aang explained, "Unless you need him for something."

"I am going to Kyoshi Island," Sokka said a little bitterly, "I am going to find out what is taking Suki so long."

"Sokka, you shouldn't be doing that," Katara said, shaking her head at her brother.

"And why not?" Sokka crossed his arms.

Katara sighed and walked up to grab her brother's sleeve, "We need to talk," she demanded, "I'll be right back Aang."

Aang nodded and watched as his girlfriend pulled Sokka a few dozen feet away from him. Once they were out of hearing range, Katara stopped and turned sharply on her brother, "Okay, look, I know you miss Suki, but this mopey, dreary attitude needs to stop."

"What does it matter to you," Sokka demanded, "You and Aang seem to mind your own business anyway."

"Well I still see you enough to be bothered by you and frankly," Katara raised her voice and put her hands on her hips, "you have started to be a little rude to Aang over the past few weeks when he has done nothing wrong and I'm sick of it."

Sokka sighed, knowing that his sister was speaking the truth, "I guess I am just a little jealous is all. You have Aang here to spend time with and I just wish that Suki was here."

"I know," Katara sighed, lowering her voice a little, "and I'm sorry that you have to be away from her for so long but you are making yourself miserable by constantly thinking about it."

"Well it's been six months," Sokka said a little dejectedly, "Part of me is wondering if she even wants to be with me again. What if she has found another guy?"

"Is that what is worrying you?"

Sokka shrugged, "What else could possibly be taking her this long?"

"Sokka, Suki wouldn't do that to you," Katara told him, "she wouldn't leave you hanging like that. If she had found another guy, she would have at least sent a message to you to let you know that you shouldn't be waiting for her anymore."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"You're just worrying too much about this," Katara put her hand on his shoulder, "If it really bothers you just send her a letter and ask her yourself."

"That is what I was going to go to Kyoshi Island for," Sokka stated.

"And if you got there and she wasn't ready to leave she might have been angry at you for rushing her," Katara said.

"Yeah, I know," Sokka sighed once again, "I just wish that I knew when she would be ready. I am tired of waiting."

"It shouldn't be too much longer," his sister assured him.

"That is what dad always tells me."

"And he's right."

Sokka looked at her, "How do you know?"

"Because Suki cares about you," she said pulling him into a hug, "she probably doesn't want to be apart any longer then than she has to."

Sokka was quite for a few moments, "Yeah…yeah, you're right," Sokka finally admitted, "Thanks Katara."

"I'm always right," Katara smiled, pulling away, "but you're welcome."

"Someone's full of themselves," her brother teased.

"I am just making up for the lack of you doing it," she joked.

Sokka rolled his eyes, "Please, I never act full of myself."

"Sure you don't," Katara rolled her eyes back at him.

"Ugh, just go back to your boyfriend," Sokka said exasperated, "I'll see you later okay."

Katara nodded, "You're fine now? I am not going to come back later to your complaining again?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, just go and have a happy anniversary," Sokka smiled.

Katara began to walk backwards towards Aang, "Oh, I didn't know you cared Sokka," she teased.

Sokka rolled his eyes once again, "Just shut up before I take it back."

Katara laughed as she turned away from him. Sokka watched her go and shook his head at her. He did actually feel a little better about things. Maybe now he would actually enjoy himself a little. Sokka watched from afar as his sister reached her boyfriend and he saw him give her a kiss before he grabbed her and jumped up on Appa's saddle. Sokka once again felt a wave of jealousy wash over him, but he quickly put that feeling down and turned to walk back into the city.

* * *

><p>Katara smiled as Aang set her down on Appa's saddle, "Aang, do you think we could have Appa just swim there?"<p>

For the second time that day, Aang looked at his girlfriend quizzically.

"It's not like we are in a rush," she explained, "And I wouldn't mind just kind of gliding through the water on Appa like we did when I first met you."

"Sure, if that is what you want," Aang told her as he leaned over the saddle to address Appa, "you hear that buddy?"

Appa grunted making a nodding motion with his head as the bison walked over to the shoreline and slowing got into the water and began to swim.

"Will he be able to find out where to go?" Katara asked as Aang came to sit next to her.

"Yeah, he knows where we are going," he assured her, "I was telling him while you were talking to Sokka."

"The iceberg has probably drifted a little bit over the past couple of years," she said.

"I know, but I don't think we will have too much of a hard time finding it," Aang responded before grinning, "It's all part of the fun right?"

"Oh, yeah," Katara deadpanned, "Of course."

Aang stared at her, "Well if that doesn't suite you, then what do you find fun?"

"You know," Katara smirked, "beating you at penguin sledding, beating you at waterbending…and then kissing you afterwards."

Aang raised his eyebrows at her and scooted a little closer to her before wrapping one of his arms around her waist, "What if we just skipped the beating parts? Would you be fine with that?"

Katara bit her lip as if in thought, "Eh, I guess I could deal with it."

Before Aang could respond she practically pounced on him, causing him to fall on his back with her on top of him as she pressed her lips roughly against his, her hands holding the back of his head. Aang's eyes widened a little in surprise before he relaxed under her, holding her tightly as his lips moved passionately against hers.

The couple must have lost track of time because next thing they knew Appa groaned signaling that they reached the area that the iceberg should be around. Katara pulled away, feeling interrupted by Appa, and Aang laughed when he saw a small frown on her face.

"Don't worry, we will have plenty of time for more of that later," he assured her, getting up to search for the iceberg.

"I'll hold you to that," Katara responded, joining him as she scanned the area.

After about half an hour of searching and some moving around thanks to Appa, Katara finally spotted what they were looking for.

"Over there!" she exclaimed, pointing her fingers at the large chunk of ice floating on the water.

Aang looked over to where she was pointing and sure enough, there it was. He quickly directed Appa over to it and when they reached it, Appa climbed up out of the water and Katara quickly hopped off. However, she quickly noticed that Aang did not get off with her and she looked back up towards the saddle to see him staring down at her.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked smiling a little, "Are you coming or what?"

Aang scratched the back of his neck nervously as he looked away from her, "This may sound a little stupid but…I may be a little…s-scared to come down."

"Um…okay," Katara raised her eyebrows at him, "Care to elaborate?"

"I just…I'm afraid that…it's going to trap me again," Aang finished lamely.

Katara was silent for a few moments as she stared at him before she let out a laugh.

"It's not funny!"

Katara stopped laughing, "It's a little funny."

"Is not!"

"Aang," she said calmly, trying to hold back more laughs, "you are not going to get stuck in the iceberg okay? I promise."

Aang looked at her for a few moments before jumping down beside her, where she embraced him.

"I promise, I won't let the big nasty iceberg trap you," she told him, causing him to frown a little when he could feel her laughing quietly against him.

Aang broke away from her, a little embarrassed and it did not go unnoticed by Katara.

"I was only teasing Aang," she apologized when he looked away from her, cheeks red, "I think it's cute, don't be upset."

Aang looked back at her and shook his head, "No your right. It is a little silly."

"I didn't mean anything by it though Aang, okay? You don't need to be embarrassed."

"Yeah I know," he smiled when she walked up to him and took hold of his hands before he told her a little sheepishly, "I wouldn't mind some protection though."

Katara giggled before leading him around the big wall of ice that isolated the outer parts of the iceberg from the middle, the place where she had first scene Appa. Though this time, the bison stayed behind, not wanting to see the couple's antics as he lay down on the ground and waited for them to come back. When they got to where they were going they looked around, it looked just as it did when they had first met.

"Well this is it," Aang stated as he walked around the area, "The place where I spent an entire century."

"Yep," Katara nodded a few feet away from him, "This is where I found you to."

They remained silent for a minute, neither knowing quite what to do.

"So why did we come here again?" Aang asked, turning towards her.

"We're reminiscing," Katara told him.

"I think we already did that," Aang told her, "like just a minute ago."

Katara's shoulders fell, "Okay, I admit it. It sounded a lot better in my head."

Aang just hummed in agreement and looked down, kicking at some snow with his foot. After a few moments he heard the sound of the snow crunching a few feet away from him and he looked up to see Katara right next to him. Her hands came up to rest on his chest and she gently began pushing him backwards.

"Um, Kat?" he questioned but still allowing her to do whatever she was trying to do when he suddenly felt his back pressing against the icy wall that was surrounding the area.

"Well this trip out here shouldn't go to a total waste," Katara explained, as she felt him heat himself up with firebending, "We are alone," she leaned inwards to give him brief kisses, still speaking as she did so, "we may as well make good use of it."

Aang embraced her, placing one of his hands on the back of her head to hold her firmly against his lips as he slowly slid down to sit up against the wall, allowing her to sit on his lap. She broke the kiss and pulled back to look at him and they both found the situation oddly familiar. As they looked into each other's eyes, the reason finally came to them; they were almost perfectly mirroring the position that they were in when they had first saw each other. Katara smiled at the realization and she brought one of her hands up to his forehead, tracing the arrow to the back of his neck before repeating the process.

After a minute or two of letting Katara trace his tattoo, Aang once again pulled her to him for a kiss and he felt her thighs lightly squeeze his sides in response. Her tongue pressed against his lips, begging for entrance, and he opened his mouth slightly to allow her to explore him. Katara pressed her body firmly against his, putting one of her hands on the back of his head to hold him to her, allowing her tongue to travel a little deeper into his mouth as she ran it along the insides of his cheeks. She could feel his hands run up and down her back as he began to stroke her tongue with his, causing the couple to moan softly. One of his hands came down to rest on her butt, squeezing it gently and holding her closer to him while his other hand ran along her upper leg, enticing more moans from his girlfriend.

Katara broke the kiss, breathing heavily, as she kissed his cheek before nuzzling it affectionately, "Love you Aang."

"Love you to," he whispered, feeling her planting kisses along his neck. He tried to search for the connection he had with her and sure enough, he could almost feel the love and desire that her spirit was radiating right now and he could only imagine what moments like this would feel like for them when they finished the spiritual bond. But that would happen later though, right now, he needed to focus solely on the girl next to him and nothing else.

He felt her begin to suck on his shoulder and he brought his hand up to massage the back of her neck to encourage her as his other hand remained on her rear. She pressed her hips experimentally against his, and the feeling that followed caused both of their breathing to quicken as she quickly moved her head back up, pressing her lips to his desperately. The hand that was resting on her butt pressed her hips forward again gently, making them both groan and they had to break the kiss for air.

They stared into each other's eyes, clouded with passion and desire. Neither of them wanted to stop. They knew that they shouldn't go too far but both of them felt comfortable with what they had just tried and they each could tell that the other wanted to continue. After a few minutes of catching their breaths Katara captured his lips in a passionate kiss, once again moving her hips against him.

They didn't know how long they had been consumed in each other but once they broke away, both of them a little flustered, they noticed that it was dusk and the sun was beginning to set.

"We should probably head back now," Aang stated, breathing a little heavily.

"Yeah," Katara agreed a little reluctantly, slowing standing up and helping him up as well.

They remained silent as they walked back to Appa, who had actually fell asleep, but was woken up as the couple climbed onto his saddle. Aang told Appa to head back and once he saw that Appa knew what he was doing, Aang looked back at his girlfriend who seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"You didn't mind what we were doing did you," she asked a little subconsciously.

He shook his head, "We knew when to stop, and I enjoy being close to you…I didn't mind."

Katara smiled as he wrapped an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly. They remained in that position until they got back to the city where they said bye to Appa and began to walk back to their house. By the time they got there, the sun had already fallen and the city was covered in darkness, with only the moon and stars providing it with a dim glow.

"Well it's about time you two got back," they heard Sokka say as they walked in. They looked to their left and saw him sitting on a cushion in the family room and he appeared to have been reading a book. "What were you doing anyway?" he asked.

"We went to go find the iceberg that Aang was trapped in," Katara answered simply.

"That's it?" Sokka looked at them weirdly, "What could you possibly be doing at an iceberg for five hours?" However when Sokka saw Aang blush as he began to speak, Sokka quickly held up his hands to stop him, "On second thought, don't answer that. I don't think I want to know."

"You don't," Katara stated simply.

"Well that's good to know," Sokka responded sarcastically before going back to read his book as Aang began to pull Katara by the hand up the stairs.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Just trust me," Aang told her as he walked into the room that they now shared and picked up a heavy blanket.

Katara looked at him questionably but kept quiet at Aang swung the blanket over his shoulder and picked her up bridal style. She wrapped her arms around his neck for support and once he had a firm hold on her, he jumped out the window and then used airbending to propel them up to the flat rooftop; causing Katara to yelp in surprise and cling to him tighter. Once they reached the top, he set her down before laying the blanket on the cold, icy surface and led her to sit down on it as he sat across from her. He suddenly became very nervous. What if she rejected what he wanted so badly? How would she react to it? However, he was broken out of his thoughts when he heard Katara's voice.

"So why did you bring us up here?" Katara asked politely.

Aang looked to the side a little nervously, "Um, well…do you remember…when I went to the spirit world a couple of weeks ago?"

Katara nodded, "Of course, you came back and said that you had a surprise for me."

"Uh, yeah," Aang scratched the back of his head, "That is why we are up here."

Katara looked around curiously and looked up to see many stars twinkling in the night sky, "Stargazing?" she guessed.

"Um, no, we could do that whenever we wanted to, no spirit world involved," Aang answered looking up as well before adding softly, "but…I guess…that would be a good thing to do afterwards."

Katara looked back at him worriedly, "What are you so nervous about Aang?"

He sighed and looked down at his hands that were on his lap and he began to twiddle his thumbs, "When I was in the spirit world, after Roku told me that nothing was going wrong…he told me something about our relationship."

Katara remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"He told me that…well…," Aang looked up at her, staring straight into her eyes that seemed sparkle as the stars reflected off of them, _she looks so beautiful, _he thought, gathering the courage to tell her, "You and I are…connected."

"Well yeah, you're my boyfriend aren't you," she said as if stating the obvious.

Aang laughed softly, "That's exactly what I said when Roku told me, but now, I think the words that would best describe us would be…soul mates," Aang finished, a blush rising to his cheeks which was thankfully hidden by the lack of light.

"Soul mates," Katara repeated quietly, smiling a little, "I like the sound of that."

Aang breathed a sigh of relief, deciding that now it would be fine to tell her everything, "Well, Roku told me that you and I share a spiritual bond with each other and that should we want to…we could complete that bond and it would bring us closer. Among other things, we would be able to feel each other's emotions and Roku said that would only be the beginning of it. He couldn't tell me everything that we would be able to do; he said we would have to find out for ourselves."

Katara was silent for a few moments as she took it all in, "How is this possible? I have never heard of this before."

"It's an Avatar thing," Aang explained, "and even then, Roku said it was rare. The bond only forms when the couple has the highest degree of trust and devotion to one another. He said the last Avatar with the ability to do it was Avatar Kuruk…and now you and I have a chance to," he smiled at her lovingly.

Katara smiled back eagerly, "So how do we complete the bond?"

"Katara," he said, using her full name instead of the pet name he had given her, which caused her to look at him intently, "As happy as it makes me that you want to do it. You need to understand that there are implications. Roku told me that we wouldn't really be able to keep secrets from each other, and that our spirits will almost be one entity. He didn't say it, but because of that, if one of us were to…die…I can't image the feeling being particularly pleasant either. I just need you to know what you are getting into. If you don't want to do it, I understand."

"Aang, I trust you," Katara told him, her voice full of affection, "Being connected to you like that…it sounds beautiful. Whatever negatives that could come out of this, I am willing to risk it. I want this Aang."

"You sure?" Aang asked her softly but sternly.

She nodded, "Just tell me what to do."

Aang smiled, directing her to sit in a meditative position. After a few moments of trying to sit right, she was finally able to make herself comfortable as Aang took her hands in his.

"Roku didn't exactly explain all of it to me; he told me that I would know what to do when the time came and I am guessing we need to have some sort of physical contact," he explained to her, "Now, close your eyes and try to relax."

Katara followed his directions. It took a few minutes but she was finally able to find peace within herself and her breathing slowed as a result.

"Good," Aang complimented, closing his own eyes and following his own directions. He thought more about what to do next. An idea popped into his head and he shifted their hands so that his was resting on her wrists, feeling her pulse, and her hands were positioned the same way, "Try to match your heartbeat with mine," he told her gently.

He knew that Katara was still new to all of this, so he tried his best to match his own heartbeat with hers so she wouldn't have to do all the work. It proved a little more difficult then he thought it would be though. Katara's heartbeat was constantly changing as she tried to meet his and he could tell that she was getting a little frustrated.

"Katara, just relax," he whispered.

She let out a long, heavy breath to calm herself before trying to match his heartbeat again. After a few minutes, Aang finally could feel their hearts beating simultaneously as if in perfect harmony.

"Okay, keep that up," he said gently and steadily, not wanting to disrupt the pattern they had found, "Now, just try to let yourself go, try to reach out to me with your own spirit and when you feel mine, don't try to fight it. Accept it."

Katara nodded and did what he said. After a few minutes, if felt as if something was pulling at her. It was just like a gentle tug that she felt inside of her, _Aang. _She tried to open herself up to his spirit and suddenly, she felt free, as though she were floating. She felt like she was whole, complete, and she wondered how she had never felt emptiness before. An onslaught of emotions flooded through her mind, but at the same time, she could easily tell that they were not her own and she instantly recognized them as Aang's. The feeling felt weird to her, different, and she tried to understand the emotions that she was getting from him; happiness, content, and…curiosity? She wondered if he was picking up the same things from her. She was sure he did and to her, the feeling felt wonderful. It was as if his spirit was inside of her and that her spirit was in him. Even though the only physical contact they shared at the moment was their hands holding each other, she felt like they were a lot closer.

Katara smiled, letting the feeling overtake her as they continued to become one with each other under the night sky.

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><p><strong>Not much to say about this one. I loved writing it...and there are a few things that allude to later chapters.<br>**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter to. R&R please.:)**


	8. Escaping Omashu

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

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><p>Horns sounded the alarm throughout the city of Omashu. The only things authorities knew was that someone had broken into the archives. However, they had soon found out that whoever had been there had left several minutes ago. Now, groups of soldiers were scattered about the city, roaming the streets to look for the intruders. What they didn't know was that the intruders were never too far away from them, in fact, they were in plain sight.<p>

Tau smiled, standing on the side of the street as another group consisting of five men passed him. This had been going a lot smoother then he thought it would. Tau knew that running would only draw suspicion so he had decided that his little group would simply walk their way out. No one in the city knew that they were the ones that were being hunted, so as far as Tau was concerned, as long as they didn't do anything suspicious they had nothing to worry about. Still, the group split up just in case. Tau, Ryu, and Sorin would take separate pathways before meeting up at a location designated by Tau. Then they would decide where to go next and split up again. However, they never strayed too far away from each other. Tau knew that if he looked around he could probably spot Sorin or Ryu mingling in the crowds of people in the street as they slowly headed towards their next destination. That was exactly what Tau was heading towards now; a small alleyway where Ryu and Sorin should meet him at eventually.

Once the group of soldiers had past, Tau began to walk again to the alleyway not too far away. Luckily, the streets weren't as crowded as they had been before the alarms went off. There was still quite a bit of people trying to go about their day, but it was still a little easier to walk then it had been before and it didn't take Tau long to reach his objective. As it turned out, Sorin was already waiting for him.

"Hey, any trouble getting here?" the firebender asked.

"Not anything that hasn't happened before," Tau replied as he walked into the isolated alley, "Have you heard from Ryu yet?"

Sorin shook his head, "No, but he should be here soon. There hasn't been any sign of his capture."

"Let's hope it stays that way."

The two waited for a few more minutes before Ryu walked swiftly around the corner to join them.

"Is everything okay Ryu? What took so long?" Tau asked.

"There are more guards coming here now, I decided to take a longer route to get past most of them," Ryu explained, "I figure that they are trying to cover the exits to the city and trap us inside of it instead of just looking around. Once they close off all the exits, we're trapped in the city till they find us."

"Well they had to use their brains eventually," Tau replied, "we are not far from the main gate. Let's go ahead and meet back up around there. Just try to search each other out once you get there; we don't have time to look for a specific destination if more soldiers are coming this way. They don't know who we are, but I would prefer to stay away from them."

"They probably have the gate locked down you know," Ryu said, "we might need to fall back on a plan B."

"What other way is there out of the city," Tau questioned.

Ryu was silent as he thought, but Sorin spoke up after a few minutes, "The airships!"

"Can you fly those," Tau turned towards him.

"I should be able to," Sorin responded, "They were implemented after I was taken out of service but if they were built on typical Fire Nation procedures, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out the controls."

"I should be able to fly them to," Ryu said, "The Dai Li were allied with the Fire Nation when the airships first began to be deployed. I have some experience with them."

Tau nodded, "That is our plan B then. For now though, meet up around the gate."

Ryu and Sorin nodded as the group stepped out of the alleyway and onto the street before splitting up. This time, Tau decided to take a slightly longer route as he tried to search for a way to get up to the airships just in case they had to fall back on their secondary plan. As he got closer to the gate, and therefore the outer wall of the city, Tau began to see entrances to the inner part of the wall. Tau guessed that they would take someone to a staircase leading to the top of the wall. Once he found that out, Tau knew that the only problem with their backup plan would be to get the airships under their control. He knew there would probably be some guards and with the political meetings going on, Fire Lord Zuko could be making his way back to the Airships right now for protection until things in the city calmed down. Tau just hoped that they would simply be able to walk out the main gate but unfortunately when the gate came in sight, he saw that it would be impossible.

There were at least two dozen soldiers at the end of the road and Tau knew his two companions would be smart enough to not go near them. He decided to backtrack down the road a little way and sure enough, he saw the two standing in another nearby alleyway.

"Well I am not sure if you noticed," Ryu said as Tau walked up to them, "but I think we are going to have to go with the airships."

"Yeah, I saw that," Tau sighed.

"Hey," Sorin said, "at least when we get the airship, we will have something decent and fast to travel in."

Ryu smiled, "No more of those rusty old wagons."

"I just wanted to be able to keep things simple," Tau explained, "by stealing one of the airships, we will definitely be hunted down in it. It would have made things simpler if we were to just walk out and no one knew."

Sorin laughed a little, "Well I seem to remember someone telling us that there may be some tough times ahead of us."

Tau gave him an amused look, recognizing what he had said to Sorin and Ryu a few weeks ago, "Smart ass."

"Just a friendly reminder," Sorin shrugged.

"Well we better hurry up and do this if we are going to," Ryu interjected.

Tau nodded, "Follow me. On my way here I saw some entrances into the wall along the outer edges of it."

"You don't want to split up?" Ryu asked.

Tau shook his head, "There would be no point, there are very few people walking along the edges of the wall except for a few guards and those are few and far between. We'll be fine."

"Let's do this then," Sorin said.

Tau led them to the massive wall surrounding the city and luckily the closest entrance was only a couple hundred feet away from them. Furthermore, they were able to reach it without having to confront any of the guards. Just as Tau had guessed, there was a long flight of stairs inside that would take them up to the top. The group quickly walked up it before Tau halted them as they neared the end. Tau then slowly stepped out onto the top of the wall, which was a lot wider then it looked, and he noticed the airships were a few hundred feet away. He motioned Sorin and Ryu to come up to him slowly.

"There they are," He said, before looking at the three airships more closely, "and it looks like there are quite a few guards there. Twenty maybe."

"There will probably be more inside of the ships to," Ryu noted.

"No there won't," Sorin declared.

Tau and Ryu looked at him waiting for him to elaborate.

"It's normal military procedure in the Fire Nation," Sorin explained, "We guard the outside of currently unused vehicles; that way no one could just walk in and steal them. There would be no point in guarding the inside. Once we take care of those guards, we should be home free."

"You sure? Tau asked, "We can't get careless."

"I'm sure," Sorin replied confidently.

"Kind of ironic if you think about it," Ryu said, "they guard the outside so the ships won't get stolen…"

"And they get stolen," Tau finished.

After thinking more about the situation for a few moments, Tau nodded at his two friends and the group started to walk slowly over to the airships, careful not to be seen. The guards seemed to be alert though and Tau knew that they had to strike before the guards did.

Once they were close enough Tau turned to his companions, "Follow my lead."

Once they nodded, Tau quickly ran forward, gathering an abnormally large amount of water from the air, and quickly launched it towards the group of guards. The large group all turned when they heard the sound of water coming towards them but they were too late. The wave collided into the group and most of the guards were thrown off the edge of the wall because of the blast. This left only about nine guards for the trio to deal with face to face.

The remaining guards quickly shot out dozens of small fire blasts towards Tau but Sorin and Ryu quickly jumped in front of their leader and blocked the attacks with a mixture of fire and earth. While they were blocking, Tau quickly gathered some more waves of water from the air in just a matter of seconds. He froze the globs of water that he held before splitting them into hundreds of little icicles that he launched at the group of fire benders. A few of the firebending guards attempted to evaporate the icicles with fire blasts but enough managed to make it through the flames to impale most of the remaining guards.

Only two guards remained standing after that and they were quickly dealt with when Sorin surprised them with a bolt of lightning. The two remaining guards fell and the victorious trio walked up to the group of bodies on the ground.

"Nice job," Tau complimented his friends as he looked at the airships a few dozen feet away from them. He instantly saw that the middle one seemed to be bigger and more elaborate than the others. He couldn't help but guess that it would be the one that would be carrying the Fire Lord or any other royalty.

"Now we just have to pick which airship we want," Sorin said, laughing a little, "do we want the large one that carries the royalty or do we want one of the two guard dogs."

"Let's take the Royalty," Ryu said, playing along.

"I didn't know we were out shopping," Tau smirked, "but royalty it is."

The three boarded the ship that was sitting on top of the large platform that was jutting out from the wall. They hopped over the railing of the catwalk on the underside of the airship and opened the doors leading inside before walking through. The group quickly made their way up to the control room of the ship where Sorin sat down at the controls and began to study them.

"Are you going to be able to do it?" Tau asked after Sorin had been playing with the controls for a few minutes.

Sorin nodded, "It doesn't seem too difficult, but then again, looking at it and doing it are two different things."

"Let me see it," Ryu said as Sorin got up and Ryu began to study the controls.

Tau meanwhile was walking around the room patiently as his friends tried to figure it out when he spotted a large group of people walking towards them. He couldn't see well because of the distance but it looked like a group of Fire Nation soldiers guarding several people behind them.

"Ryu," Tau said as the earth bender turned to look at him, "Can you collapse the platform that these ships are on top of."

"Yes, why?"

"Do it, we have company," Tau told him, "Sorin, be ready to launch the ship right as Ryu takes out the platform."

Sorin nodded and quickly took a seat at the controls as Ryu began to head back towards the underside catwalk.

* * *

><p>Fire Lord Zuko and his fiancé Mai were hurried though the streets of Omashu along with many other Fire Nation politicians. Fire Nation soldiers formed a circular shape around them as they were escorted back to the airships.<p>

The last several minutes had gone by in a flurry for Zuko. One second he and his advisors were meeting with King Bumi and his advisors over trade agreements and the next thing he knew, alarms were being sounded throughout the city. Zuko's escorts had come soon after that to bring him back to the royal airship. One of the soldiers had quickly informed him that someone had broken into Omashu's archives and even though no one seemed to be after him, it was best for him to return to the safety of the airships. That thought quickly changed however when the group reached the top of the city's wall and saw several dead guards lying on the ground. All of the soldiers quickly moved to the front of Zuko and the rest of the politicians as they slowly made their way towards the airships.

"What do you think happened," Mai asked him, staring at the scene.

Zuko took a few moments to answer as he felt his heart rate pick up, "The same people that broke into the archives must have done this…and they're in one of the airships."

"Well I hope they don't take the royal one," Mai said calmly.

Zuko smiled at his fiancé, "Only you could act natural in a situation like this."

Mai just shrugged when Zuko saw her staring at something. He followed her gaze to see someone on the lower catwalk of the Royal Airship. He saw the figure step off of the catwalk, leaving one foot on it, and then placing his hands on the ground. Everything became a blur after that.

The whole platform suddenly shattered into smaller pieces and the two unoccupied airships quickly fell down the small mountain the city stood on. Zuko could hear the faint sound of explosions when they hit the bottom as the Royal Airship seemed to hover in the air. He noticed that his soldiers began to shoot fireballs towards the figure, who had managed to get back on the catwalk and retreat back inside the ship. The ship continued to hover, swaying back and forth, and as it drew a little closer to the wall Zuko made a split second decision. He quickly ran towards it, barely registering Mai and the soldiers yelling for him to stop as he jumped off of the massive wall, using firebending to launch himself a few extra feet. He barely managed to grab onto the railing of the catwalk the figure had been on just moments ago. Pulling himself up and over the railing, Zuko let out a sigh of relief that he had managed to make it on.

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><p>Tau gripped onto the seat to steady himself as Sorin tried to get control of the airship after Ryu had destroyed the platform. He could feel the ship wobble back and forth and shutter a little as it tried to stay in the air. Looking back on it, Tau realized that destroying the platform while they were still on it probably wasn't the best idea, but at least now the other two airships had been destroyed and wouldn't be able to follow them.<p>

Ryu suddenly ran through the door quickly getting Tau's attention, "They are definitely not happy with us right now."

"No kidding," Tau said as he looked out the side window to see that several of the soldiers were firing on the ship. The fire blasts simply dissipated once they hit the ship, causing no damage to it. One thing caught Tau's eye however, as he saw someone running right towards the airship as it drifted closer to the wall.

"Sorin," he shouted, "get control of this thing now and get it away from here!"

"I'm trying," Sorin shot back, "Attempting to fly this thing with nothing to lift off from is a little harder than it looks."

Tau just looked back out the window to see the person that he had been watching jump onto the airship. "Damn it," he murmured, before speaking up, "Okay, someone has boarded the ship. I'll go take care of him. Ryu, assist Sorin and try to get this thing moving."

Tau quickly walked out of the control room as Ryu joined Sorin at the controls.

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><p>Zuko had trouble walking forward as the ship swayed back in forth. When he was finally able to get off of the catwalk and inside of the airship he found himself in a large empty room that usually was used for preparations when going into combat. Since the room bordered the exit, it made it easy to get troops out into battle but Zuko noted that obviously, that was not a particularly useful thing for him to remember at the moment. There was another catwalk running across the top of the room and it led to two doors. Knowing that was where he needed to go, he began to walk over to the side of the room where there was a spiral staircase leading up to the catwalk but he stopped when he heard the door open above him.<p>

"Fire Lord Zuko."

Upon hearing the voice, Zuko looked up, surprised to see someone staring down at him.

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><p>Tau didn't have to look hard to find the intruder. In fact, he laughed to himself a bit when he saw that the intruder hadn't even made it out of the first room. However, he was surprised to find that it was the Fire Lord that had the guts to board the airship without any back up. Luckily, the airship had stopped wobbling by the time Tau decided to confront Zuko and he assumed that it meant that Sorin and Ryu had managed to gain control of it. Now though, Tau simply stared down at the young Fire Lord, who seemed surprised to see him after he was addressed by his title.<p>

"Who are you?" Zuko demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Tau replied as he jumped down to Zuko and he now stood only about a dozen feet away from him.

"Don't play any games," the Fire Lord shot back, "what is the point of all this? What do you want?"

Tau smiled and narrowed his eyes, "What makes you think I am going to answer any of your questions. You have nothing to bargain with. You are on this ship alone and with no back up. If anything, I should be asking you some things. You do have lot of guts coming here you know? It's very brave, but stupid. Though, that is to be expected from someone who is foolishly trying to lead a nation at such a young age…and failing, I might add."

Zuko kept quiet, knowing that whoever this man was, he was just trying to bait him.

"Tell me," Tau continued, "How is the release of all the war prisoner's going? It took a year and a half for you to get me out. I would hate to hear how many other prisoners of war there are, just waiting to be released."

"Is that was this is about?" Zuko asked, "You're just upset that it takes time to go through the list of Fire Nation prisoners and set apart the good from the bad? These things aren't that simple!"

"Oh, that is not the purpose of all this," Tau replied simply, taking a few steps forward, smiling to himself when Zuko took a couple of steps back, "I was merely curious. It simply amazes me that even two years after the war, there are still prisoners from it rotting in their cages. You don't have to worry about it though, go ahead and take your time with that. Someone your age probably thinks that they have better things to do then to try to lead a nation…" Tau paused and met Zuko's eyes before adding, "like screwing your fiancé for example."

That did it. Zuko made a punching motion with his arm as a blast of fire shot towards Tau, who swiftly jumped to the side to avoid it.

"Self control, Fire Lord," Tau laughed, unfazed by the attack, "it might be something good for you to learn in the future."

Then, before Zuko could respond, he saw Tau gather an unusually large amount of water from the air. Next thing he knew, he was blasted back several feet, grunting as he landed hard on his back.

Zuko slowly got up to see Tau walking over to him. _Who is this guy, _he thought_, I have seen Katara gather water from the air several times but that was just too much._

Tau gathered some more water and held it next to him as he saw Zuko get up. The firebender quickly jabbed his arms forward a few times, launching several fireballs at Tau. Tau reacted quickly though as he bent the water in front of him to block each blast with relative ease before launching an attack of his own. He gathered up some more water before swiping it down at Zuko's feet and the Fire Lord had to jump over the stream of water as he kicked some blasts of fire back at his opponent. Tau ran forward, shooting out the water he held in front of him to dissipate the fireballs before freezing the water into a spear. Zuko had barely enough time to move out of the way of the spear that was shot at him but he quickly saw that it was only a distraction. He barely managed to block a wave of water from behind him only to have a second wave coming from his side to knock him down. As he was knocked back to the ground, he tried to get up only to have Tau shoot another blast of water at him which threw him roughly against the metal wall.

Pain shot through Zuko's back from the impact as he struggled to get up, breathing heavily.

"I expected the Fire Lord to be a lot better," Tau said tauntingly, "If your father was this weak then I guess that answers how the Avatar was able to defeat him. Or is it that you are simply just a pathetic excuse for an heir."

Zuko glared back as he got back up on shaky legs, "You want better, I'll give you better."

Zuko swiftly ran up so they were just a foot or two away from each other and he formed two fire daggers in his hands as he began his attack with newfound energy.

Tau simply ducked or side stepped to avoid the daggers and every now and then he would use his own water to block Zuko's attacks. Eventually, Tau formed his own ice daggers and he began to parry the attacks. He jumped when Zuko made a sweeping motion with his leg only to have the Fire Lord bring his leg around a second time at Tau's head. The Waterbender reacted fast and shot one of the small ice daggers at the leg that would hit him in the head. The dagger impaled Zuko's leg, knocking him off balance as Tau used one hand to grab hold of one of Zuko's arms and he then began to punch Zuko multiple times in the chest with his free arm. Zuko was unable to fight back under the beatings and he cried out a little when Tau roughly shoved him towards the door leading back outside to the catwalk. Before Zuko could regain his footing, Tau blasted him with water so hard that it knocked him through the metal door, throwing it off of its hinges.

Zuko laid on the walkway, coughing up a little blood as Tau calmly stepped outside, stopping a few feet from Zuko. Zuko looked down and saw that they were high in the air, well above Omashu. He was alone now; no one would be helping him. The young fire lord stumbled as he tried to get back up, clutching his impaled leg that still had the ice in it. Tau wasn't going to allow him to have any rest though. He walked forward and kicked the Fire Lord back down.

Zuko grunted and drew up the last remaining strength he had and rolled away from Tau, stood up, and fired the biggest blast of fire he could create. Tau swiftly gathered up water in front of him, blocking the massive fireball before freezing the water and dividing it into several sharp discs then shooting them back at the wounded Fire Lord.

Zuko did what he could. He couldn't evade on the narrow walkway and what little fire he was able to get out was useless as the discs cut the side of his arms and legs. He roughly fell back down on the metal surface no longer having the strength to fight. However, his eyes widened when he saw something below the airship.

Tau created another ice spear, ready to impale it through Zuko's heart, "Good bye, Fire Lord Zuko."

Just as he shot the spear though, Zuko managed to roll off the walkway and down to whatever lay below the airship. Tau raised an eyebrow and looked of the edge to see a war balloon directly below him. He saw some dark haired girl pull the injured Fire Lord into it as she turned and shot a couple of knives at him. He ducked, letting the knives fly over his heard and when he stood back up, the war balloon was a couple hundred feet away, retreating back to the city.

Tau heard someone run up beside him and turned to see Sorin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ryu has the airship controlled," Sorin explained, "I saw the war balloon coming and I came to help."

Tau nodded as Sorin then began to generate lightning, making circular motions with his arms, to destroy the war balloon. Tau knew it would surely kill Zuko and whoever it was that saved him but an idea suddenly popped into his head and he reached out to stop Sorin's motions.

Sorin looked at Tau questionably as Tau let go of his arms.

"Don't," Tau ordered.

"What? Why!" Sorin exclaimed.

"Just trust me," Tau said, walking back inside of the airship.

Sorin glanced at the war balloon off in the distance before turning to follow him.

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><p>Zuko grunted in pain as Mai helped him out of the war balloon and back onto the top of Omashu's wall. He closed his eyes and sat down, leaning his head back against the war balloon as he sighed in exhaustion.<p>

"What were you thinking?" Mai yelled, standing over him and showing an emotional side of her that she didn't often show, "If I wasn't able to run back and get that war balloon from the military camps, you would have been dead!"

"I'm sorry Mai," Zuko said weakly, "but I had to try. We couldn't just let them get away."

Mai softened a little, feeling her anger fade away, and bent down to hug him lightly, seeing how hurt he was, "Just don't do something like that again okay?"

"Okay, I promise," he relaxed into her, breathing heavily. He felt pain all over his body.

"I don't know who that was," he said, forcing himself to speak, "he had an advance level of water bending that I had never seen. Not even from Katara. It was as if there was a big lake right next to him all the time. It was just too much."

Mai just hugged him tighter sympathetically as a medic ran up to them, "You called for me?"

Mai nodded, "Take him to the infirmary."

"Wait Mai…" Zuko started.

"We are not arguing about this Zuko," Mai interrupted, "you need to rest."

Zuko sighed, "Just…just send a letter to Aang for me okay? Tell him what happened. He needs to know."

Mai nodded and leaned forward to give her fiancé a quick kiss before the medic led him off to the infirmary.

* * *

><p>"You let the Fire Lord go!"<p>

"Yes Ryu, I did," Tau said calmly as he watched the Earthbender steer the airship. They were now a good ways from the city and Tau wasn't worried about anyone following them just yet so he had told Ryu to just get them as far away as possible until nightfall. This left the three of them to just relax but Sorin had to make a point to bring up Tau's decision and that in turn had Ryu questioning him to.

"I still want to know why," Sorin said, leaning against the wall.

"Alright then," Tau said looking at him, "answer this; at the first sign of trouble who will the Fire Lord go to for help? Who has the best relations with him?"

Sorin remained quiet for a few moments, "The Earth King?" he guessed.

Tau shook his head.

"The Avatar," Ryu stated.

Tau smiled, "Exactly."

"What?" Sorin's eyes widened, "You want to bring the Avatar into this?"

"We are searching for spirits, Sorin," Tau explained, "who better else to help us then the Avatar? If we can't find the missing pages then we might need him."

Sorin gazed at him and shook his head, "If you think the Avatar is going to help us, you're insane."

"Sorin," Tau laughed lightly before saying slowly and clearly, "If we do end up needing the Avatar's help… I don't plan on giving him much of a choice."

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><p><strong>Yeah, so this was pretty much the Zuko Alone chapter of the fic. Aang and Katara will be in every chapter besides this one<strong>. **It is how it is. We got to see Zuko though, so that's good right.**

**I hope the fight scene turned out alright to. I tried to be descriptive enough with it but let me know how it was.**


	9. Letters

**Yeah, so at chapter 7 we had the longest chapter so far in the fic...and now we have the shortest one. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Avatar**

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><p>"Will you two stop doing that?"<p>

Aang broke eye contact from Katara to glance at Sokka briefly, "Stop doing what?" he said, before looking back at his girlfriend.

"Ugh, that," the older boy sighed, glaring at the two. What had started out as a peaceful morning for him had turned into a nightmare in his eyes. Taking Katara's advice from a few days before, Sokka had decided to write a letter to Suki and that was what he was trying to do now. Unfortunately for him, Aang and Katara had decided to come down and have breakfast right when he had started to write his letter. Sure, the two had finished their meal quick enough but they stayed sitting at the kitchen table doing…well…whatever they had been trying to do for the past few days ever since their anniversary. Sokka didn't understand it and it drove him crazy to be in the middle of whatever their staring contest was.

"I still don't know what you want us to stop doing," Aang told him, not breaking his gaze from Katara's.

Sokka stared at the two of them across the table, "The staring, the lovey-dovey looks….take your pick."

Neither one of the two younger teens seemed to hear him which caused Sokka hit his forehead in frustration before looking down at the paper next to him, trying to figure out what to write. He dipped his brush in an ink jar next to him so he could start writing but before he could do anything, he heard his sister speak up for the first time in a while.

"Content?" he heard her ask.

Sokka looked back up from his paper curiously to see her still staring at Aang, who nodded and hummed in approval. That exchange had Sokka looking back and forth at the two with a confused expression on his face, "Okay, I have been dealing with this for the past couple of days and I just can't take it anymore, so please just tell me what you two are doing? Honestly, it's freaking me out."

Katara finally broke eye contact with Aang and glared at her brother, "It's none of your business Sokka. If you don't like it then go somewhere else but whatever you do, just leave Aang and me alone!"

Before Sokka could respond, Aang spoke up to address his girlfriend, "Oh, I got it! You're angry."

Katara tilted her head towards him, "Annoyed, but good try though," she corrected before winking at him.

"Ugh, just forget it," Sokka grumbled before gathering his things to go up to his own room to write his letter.

Aang and Katara watched him go before Aang looked back at her speculatively, "Amused?" he guessed.

Katara smiled and turned back towards him, "Mmhm," she hummed, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

Aang smiled back at her. Ever since they had completed their bond a few days ago, they had felt as though they were part of each other and like Roku had said; the most noticeable thing the bond did was enable them to feel each other's emotions. However, the thing that had surprised them the most was that it was a little harder to pinpoint what exactly those emotions were. Aang had thought it would be simple, he knew what his own emotions were easy enough, but there was something about having someone else's emotions in his conscience that made it a little harder to tell what it was. They were both already to the point where they could easily tell if the other was happy or sad, emotions that were polar opposites, but it was harder for them to figure out the more specific types of emotions: things like irritation and annoyance which could easily be confused as anger or things like excited and amused which could be confusing to distinguish from being happy. Those emotions are where they had a hard time telling what was what and that was what they had been working on for the past couple of days. To their excitement, they had been getting better at it and nine times out of ten, they were able to correctly identify what the other was feeling.

Still, the practicing that they had been doing was bothering Sokka and Aang felt a little bad for being that much of an annoyance to his friend and he decided to bring it up, "You know, maybe we should just tell your brother. It might make things a little easier and it might bother him less if he actually understood what we were doing."

"No," Katara shook her head, "I just want to keep it between us Aang, at least for now. This thing we have…it's special to me…and to us, and I feel like it's something that only we should know about."

"I know what you mean," Aang agreed with her, "It feels kind of…private."

She nodded in agreement, "Exactly, I just feel like we should learn more about it and get used to it before we go around talking about it to everyone else."

"You don't…regret doing it do you?" Aang asked a little nervously.

Quickly noticing what he was feeling, Katara reached out to take hold of his hands, "Of course not Aang. Why would you think that?" she asked gently.

He shrugged, "I guess I just want to make sure you're happy with it. We can't exactly take it back."

"Aang, I am happy," she said, reaching up to cup his cheek, "In fact, I'm happier then I have ever been in my life. I love sharing this with you, it's amazing, and I wouldn't want things to be any other way. Besides, I like being able to call you my soul mate."

"Really," Aang looked at her, a pink tinge visible on his cheek.

Katara giggled softly, "Of course silly."

Aang leaned forward to kiss her softly in response, trying to pour all of his affection and love into her, and she grasped his hands tighter as her lips began to move against his.

The kiss didn't last long, but the one thing they had quickly found out about kissing after completing their connection was that it felt a lot more intimate. Simple kisses that had used to just be seen as quick pecks on the lips now began to give them the feeling that a long passionate kiss would bring. Consequently, those long passionate kisses easily began to take their breath away from the emotions that would be felt in them. It used to be that those kisses had just felt good and they made the couple feel loved but now, with the connection completed, the emotions that they had for each other during those kisses filled their spirits and it was overwhelming at times. They even had to start to be more careful to keep control of themselves during their more heated sessions and they had never used to have that problem because of how responsible they were. The things that they could now feel from each other though had almost thrown that self control and responsibility out the window. They were careful however; they knew where to stop and in the end, their connection had brought them even closer than they were before. It was almost impossible for them not to think about the other since they would always feel each other in their conscience.

As it was now, the passionate kiss that they had just ended a few seconds ago had managed to take their breaths away and it left them staring into each other's eyes longingly. It was still in the morning though and they knew that they had all day to do what they wanted. They knew that there was no need to rush.

_Why not take our time with it then, _they thought.

* * *

><p>Sokka sat at his desk in the corner of his room struggling to get what he wanted to down on paper. The paper had probably been sitting there, waiting for something to be written on it, for half an hour now. He just didn't know if he should be forward with the letter and simply demand an explanation or if he should just make small talk with it before asking her what he wanted to at the end of the letter. Still though, he knew that he had to start somewhere so he figured he would just start with the easy part. He picked up his brush again, dipped it in ink, and started to write:<p>

_Dear, Suki_

Sokka's strokes with the brush halted after that, not knowing what else to put. He rested his head on his hand and sighed, _who knew writing letters could be so difficult?_

Sokka had to admit that he could maybe use some advice on it but his Dad was out somewhere working and there wasn't really anyone else that could give Sokka useful advice. As he thought about who he could talk to, Sokka heard the door open from behind him and quickly turned around in his seat.

"Can you guys really not leave me alone for…oh Aang, it's just you, come in"' Sokka finished upon seeing that Aang had come in alone, "Where's Katara?"

Aang walked over to the other boy and leaned against the wall next to his desk, "She said she wanted to take a bath before we did anything so she went to go do that. We were thinking about going penguin sledding again afterwards."

"Of course" Sokka said, rolling his eyes, his voice full of sarcasm, "Spirits forbid that you do anything else."

"Hey," Aang crossed his arms defensively, "We haven't done that for like…five days."

"Five days?" Sokka raised his eyebrow at him.

"Okay, so maybe it has been more like three or four," he admitted.

"I don't even get why you continue to do it anymore anyway," Sokka wondered aloud, "Don't you lose all the time now?"

"Well so what if I lose all the time, maybe I just enjoy spending time with her," Aang said simply.

"Still though," Sokka argued, "It has to get old eventually."

"If that is what you want to think," Aang shrugged before he then looked down at the nearly blank page on the desk, "You still haven't written it yet."

Sokka looked back at the page, sighing, "I just don't know what to write. I'm not sure if I should be casual with it or just simply demand answers."

"Just do what your heart tells you," Aang said.

"Excuse me?"

"Whatever you are feeling right now, just write that down on the page. Trust me." he explained.

"You want me to take relationship advice from you," Sokka raised an eyebrow, "No offense Aang, but I don't think you are exactly the relationship expert here."

"And you are?" Aang snorted, "Funny, I thought that my relationship is better off than yours is right now,"

Sokka stared at him before his shoulders slumped in defeat, "Okay, point taken."

"Just be honest with her and you'll be fine. Tell her what you are feeling right now," Aang advised him, "Katara loves it when I am open with her…I would think Suki would be the same."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sokka admitted, "I'll try that. It's not like I have any better ideas."

Aang watched as his friend turned away from him and began to write on the blank page for several minutes. He decided not to say anything so he wouldn't interrupt Sokka's concentration and he guessed that he wouldn't be too happy with him if that were to happen.

"There…done," Sokka finally announced as he re-read what he had wrote.

"Can I see?" Aang asked.

"What? No!" Sokka exclaimed, "Why do you want to see it?"

"Because I am helping you and I think it might be a good idea to make sure that it's as good as it can be," Aang replied.

"Trust me Aang, I got it okay? I don't think it could get much better than this."" Sokka stated confidently as he began to walk out of his room to go to the city's communications center. It would receive or send out letters using messenger birds for transport; a practice that the Earth Kingdom and Watertribes had adopted after the Hundred Years War.

"If you say so," Aang rolled his eyes as he followed Sokka down the stairs.

Sokka opened the door to leave, "You said to put my heart out on the page and that is what I did. I know Suki will understand it so I am just going to go ahead and send it to her now. I'll be right back."

"Katara and I will probably be gone by then," Aang told him.

"Then I'll see you guys later," Sokka shrugged as he went out the door.

Once he was gone Aang walked over to go lay on the sofa until Katara was finished with her bath. He relaxed and he closed his eyes, trying to focus more on his connection to her, wanting to feel her presence even though she wasn't next to him. After several more minutes of doing this, he heard someone walking down the stairs and he opened his eyes to see Katara standing over him.

Aang shifted a bit when she wordlessly motioned for him to scoot over so she could lie down next to him. He was pressed in between her and the back of the sofa but he didn't mind, especially when she snuggled into his chest and he was able to breathe in her fresh scent. His hands ran through her hair, which was still a little damp from her bath, as he held onto her for the next several minutes, relaxing as her content emotions radiated from her spirit.

"So are we going to actually go penguin sledding or are we just going to relax here?" she murmured into his chest.

"I'm ready to go when you are," he kissed the top of her head.

"Mmm, can we stay here for a few more minutes?" she requested lazily.

He smiled as he began to rock her back and forth gently, resting his head on top of hers, "Whatever you want Kat."

They stayed in that comfortable position for the next few minutes until they picked their heads up when they heard someone open the main door.

"Aang, are you here?" Hakoda asked urgently as he walked in.

"Over here," Aang said as he and Katara shifted so they were just sitting side by side on the couch.

Hakoda looked over and saw the couple and he walked over to them slowly. The first thing Aang noticed was that the older man was holding a small letter in his hands.

"What is it?" Aang asked, gazing intently at the paper.

"The council and I have been looking over this all morning ever since the communications services delivered it to us," Hakoda explained, "It's for you, but I assume they wanted the council to see it before you did."

"What's it about?"

"See for yourself," Hakoda answered, handing Aang the letter.

The Avatar sat back as he opened it and he felt his heart drop. Katara instantly noticed a change in her boyfriend's emotions and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as she read the message with him:

_Aang,_

_I promised Zuko that I would get this to you as soon as I could. There is no easy way to say this so I will just go ahead and tell you as simply as I can. Someone has attacked Omashu. We have no idea who it was or who they were affiliated with but by the end of it, two of our airships were destroyed with the third one being stolen. Zuko was also left badly wounded after a fight with the attackers. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that the person who Zuko had fought was a Waterbender. We don't know anything else though and things are a mess here. The attack has the authorities very shaken up and the security has nearly doubled. My advice to you: get to Omashu as soon as you can. We might need you._

_ Sincerely, Mai_

The three people in the room sat in silence for a long time. Aang closed his eyes and crumbled the letter in his hand, not believing what had happened. Roku had just told him a few weeks ago that things were fine. What changed all of the sudden? He felt Katara's arms wrap around him and he gladly leaned into her embrace, resting his head against the front of her shoulder and very aware of what she was feeling at the moment as well.

Katara couldn't quite believe it either. Her own fears, the fears that she had thought were ridiculous, had actually come true. She had an aching feeling in her heart and it didn't help much that she could feel Aang's own sadness as well. She didn't mind feeling that though despite it being unhelpful. This was what their bond was about; to be there for each other and getting through things together despite whatever may be taking place. She only squeezed him tighter as they both tried to comfort the other. She tried to send some confidence and reassurance to him though their bond and he tried to do the same.

Hakoda just stood there and watched them, not wanting to intervene. He could understand why they were upset. They had worked so hard to bring peace to the world before and for all they knew, someone was now trying to destroy it. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted though when someone else barged through the door.

"Okay I'm back," Sokka said happily, feeling a weight being lifted off his shoulders after sending the letter to Suki. He thought things might start to look up for him but his mood quickly changed when he felt the dreary atmosphere of the room, "Uh, did I miss something?"

The three other members of the room looked at him but it was Aang that spoke up, his voice devoid of any emotion though his eyes glistened with unshed tears, "Someone's attacked Omashu."

Sokka's eyes widened at the news, not quite knowing how to react. Aang on the other hand felt like he knew what he should do, what he had to do. They had experienced peace for years and Aang wasn't going to let recent events ruin it for his friends. They shouldn't have to risk their lives again, especially Katara, not if he could help it.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you liked it! I am happy to say that, thankfully, they are leaving the South Pole very very soon. <strong>


	10. Dreary Departure

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Katara found herself hurrying to pack her bags for what she would need to go to Omashu. She swiftly folded up her clothes that she was not currently using and packed them as her heart pounded in her chest. Aang's rush to leave made her feel the need to get ready as fast as possible. He had gathered his stuff and hurried out the door before she had even reached their room. She guessed that he went to go get Appa ready but for whatever reason she had a bad feeling in her gut. Katara could feel that Aang was stressing and he also seemed a little confused about something. That made her uneasy. Aang always seemed to do something irrational when he was like this.<p>

She closed up her bags as she finished packing and ran down the stairs to see that Sokka was already there waiting for her to go and her dad was standing next to him. Once Hakoda saw her come down he walked up to hug his daughter.

"I'll miss you," he said gently.

Katara hugged him a little tighter, "I'll miss you to. We shouldn't be gone long though."

Her father broke away and smiled at her, "If things are more chaotic then they seem, send me a message and I will get there as soon as I can."

Katara nodded but Sokka spoke up, "What about the city. You just can't leave it."

"The council can run it while I'm gone," Hakoda said, "that is what they are there for. Depending on what is taking place, the other nations might need to work together to solve this problem and I need to play my part if it gets that serious."

"Hopefully it's not as bad as we think," Katara cut in.

"It'll be fine," their father assured, "You two helped end the Hundred Year War and I know that you can help end this to. I just want you to know that I couldn't be more proud of you."

The siblings smiled and hugged their dad goodbye once more before making their way out of the house. They made their way out of the city and towards Appa's stable but to their surprise, Appa was no longer there.

Katara nearly felt her heart stop, _oh no. _She ran forward and began to look at the area around the stables with Sokka close behind her. However, Sokka stopped as something caught his eye.

"Katara over here," Sokka called out.

His sister quickly turned around and ran over to him to see what he was looking at. A trail of footprints were imprinted in the snow and by the looks of them, they were Appa's. Katara ran forward following the trail, praying to the spirits that Appa wasn't too far away.

Sokka began to run after her, "Wait up, just slow down a minute!"

Katara didn't listen though. She ran for another minute before she spotted Appa walking away from her in the distance and she stopped, breathing heavily.

"Finally," Sokka breathed as he caught up to her, spotting the bison in the distance, "See there he is. No big deal."

Once again though, Katara didn't seem to hear him, "Aang?" she said softly, sounding as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Before Sokka could stop her, she ran forward again, calling out Aang's name over and over desperately.

Sokka's eyes widened, finally figuring out what Katara had found out when they saw the empty stable. The young warrior quickly followed her towards the bison and to his relief, he saw Appa stop when his sister reached him.

Katara slowly walked around to Appa's head were she found Aang sitting, staring at his lap.

She looked up at him, "What were you doing?" she demanded.

Aang looked away from her ashamed and Katara's breath hitched as she realized that her suspicions were right.

"Were you trying to leave us!" Katara accused, raising her voice in disbelief.

Aang only looked further away from her and squeezed his eyes shut. She felt a mixture of emotions coming from him but she couldn't quite tell what they were and frankly, she didn't care. She was furious and she knew that was exactly what Aang could feel from her.

"I can't believe you!" she yelled, clenching her fists, "I can't believe you would do that, after all that we have been through! How could you try to leave us behind!"

Aang kept silent as his heart ached from the pain he knew that he had caused her.

"Answer me!" she demanded, feeling tears gather in her eyes.

Aang tuned his head to look at her through the corner of his eyes, "I just…don't think it is safe for you to come."

"WHAT!"

Aang visibly flinched from her tone, a tone that she rarely addressed towards him, "It might be dangerous. We don't know what we are going up against."

Katara glared long and hard at him, a few tears lining her cheeks. She barely registered Sokka standing a few dozen feet away from her to give the couple some space. After taking a few heavy breaths she spoke up again, not lowering her voice, "You think it's too dangerous? I helped you fight the war Aang. Sokka and I both did. How can you tell me that anything could be more dangerous than that!"

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Aang told her gently, trying to calm her down, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you."

"I can handle myself just fine Aang! You know that!"

"I know it's just…"

"It's just what Aang! She interrupted.

"It's just safer for you here. I know you can handle yourself but," Aang paused not knowing how to continue, "I just…I think this is something I can handle on my own. There is no need for you to put yourself in danger."

"What if you can't handle it on your own," Katara lowered her voice slightly, trying to use reason now, "What then? Am I just supposed to sit here waiting for you to return? I can't do that Aang. We do this together, don't you remember? That's what you said."

"I know what I said," Aang looked down at her, his heart breaking when he saw her hurt expression, "but some things change."

"Well this doesn't," Katara told him sternly.

"Just trust me okay? I can handle this alone. Katara please, I need you to understand," Aang pleaded, his voice rising. Part of him knew that he was being a little ridiculous but he only wanted to protect her. He didn't want to risk losing her and he felt he needed to convince her to stay.

"Understand what?" Katara retorted, hands on her hips, "Why you would leave me behind? I'll be fine Aang."

"You don't know that," Aang said, still trying to convince her as he felt himself getting more frustrated, "we knew what we were going up against during the war. We don't know that now!"

"You're right we don't," Katara agreed, feeling as though she was about to get through to him, "But I do know one thing, and that is that I need you, and you need me."

"Katara for the last time, I don't need you, I can do it on my own!" Aang yelled at her forcefully, but quickly stopped when he realized what he had said. He forced himself to glance down at her and he didn't need their spiritual connection to understand what she was feeling: hurt and betrayal.

Katara's whole body shook and she looked down at the snow, clenching her eyes shut as she tried to stop the tears from falling. She didn't know what to say. She and Aang always depended on each other, especially during the war. It broke her heart to hear Aang cast her off like that. She had always felt that it was her duty to protect him but apparently, he didn't need that.

"Katara I…" Aang started, but he was quickly interrupted.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" she looked back up to him and the anger and pain that he saw in her eyes forced him to look away, "Sokka and I are going with you and that's final!"

"I don't want you to get hurt," Aang pleaded one last time.

"Well if you haven't already noticed, you're hurting me right now Aang!" Katara yelled at him.

Those words seemed to pierce Aang's heart and he put his hand on his chest as a result from the feeling. He could also feel his eyes begin to water, _what was I thinking? She was right, how could I do that?_

Aang gulped and he looked cautiously at her and found that she was looking away from him now, gazing off to the side, but he could clearly see the tears that were falling from her eyes, "Alright Katara, you guys can come."

She looked back up at him, her voice quivering when she spoke, "Oh is that what you want now! After you essentially just got done telling me that I'm worthless! Go off on your own if you want! See if I care!"

"I don't want that," Aang told her, looking at her pleadingly, "I'm sorry Katara, I didn't mean that I swear. I 'm just nervous and stressed and…"

He didn't finish because Katara abruptly turned and walked away from him. He thought she was leaving but a few second later he felt two figures climb onto Appa's tail and up to the saddle.

"Yip yip," Aang said halfheartedly as Appa took off.

He hated himself right now. He couldn't believe that he had said that to her, that he had lied to her like that in his desperation to get her to stay. Now she was mad at him, furious even. He hugged his knees to his chest as a few tears formed. For the first time, Aang had felt her more negative emotions come through their connection and it felt terrible to know what she was feeling right now; it shattered his heart into hundreds of little pieces.

The worst part is that she believed what he had told her was true and he knew very well that it wasn't. He needed her, more than she could imagine, and he only hoped that he would be able to make it all up to her and that she would be able to forgive him.

* * *

><p>Tau watched through the window of the control room as more patrols from the search party passed below them. After escaping Omashu, the city had sent out an enormous group of soldiers to hunt them down and it quickly became apparent to Tau that they couldn't out run them without the risk of being discovered.<p>

Sorin had eventually managed to guide the airship into a small crevice in a large plateau that they had come across and Tau decided that it would be best to wait until the majority of the patrols were called off from their search before going anywhere. So, for the past few days, they had simply been waiting for that to happen. From the look of things, they would be able to move out soon. The patrols were coming around a lot less often and Tau guessed in a couple of days they would be free to go.

In the mean time, the group had been looking around the airship to get familiar with it and that was what Sorin and Ryu were off doing now. It had been agreed that one person would always be in the control room in case something happened and now, it was Tau's turn to wait there.

The truth was though, even when they are able to leave, Tau wasn't quite sure on where they would go. At the moment they had reached a dead end. The missing pages to Kuruk's Journal had not been in the Omashu archives. However, Tau knew that it was possible that they were moved somewhere else with the other things that had been on those empty shelves, but he also knew that he had no idea of where they would be moved to. He hadn't brought it up to Ryu or Sorin yet, but at this point, he figured that it wouldn't hurt for them to know. Maybe they had an idea.

As if on cue, both of his companions walked through the door a few seconds later.

"Anything new yet," Sorin asked, sitting down on a chair.

"No, just the same things we have seen for the past few days," Tau replied turning away from the window.

"Where are we even going to head to once we do leave?" Ryu asked as he leaned against a wall near the door, crossing his arms.

"I was just thinking about that," Tau told him, "Honestly, I don't know, but I do know that the missing pages might have been moved from the Omashu archives."

"What makes you think that?" Sorin questioned, leaning back in his chair

"Right before we had to leave the archives I saw something," Tau explained, "There was a whole section of documents that was missing. I think they may have been moved and the pages may have been part of it."

"Well that isn't very helpful," Sorin stated, "where would it have been moved to?"

Tau shook his head, "I don't know but if we want any chance at finding those pages we are going to have to find out."

"Ba Sing Se," Ryu said.

"What?" Tau looked at him.

"They may have been moved to Ba Sing Se," Ryu told him.

"How do you know," Sorin asked.

Ryu was silent for a few moments, "Before the Avatar showed up, the Dai Li had complete control of Ba Sing Se. No shipments came in and nothing happened without us knowing. A few years ago I, along with a few other Dai Li, was assigned to help transport a large group of documents in to Ba Sing Se's archives."

"The documents came from the Omashu archives?" Tau guessed.

"Correct," Ryu nodded, "I was the one in charge of making sure the transportation was successful and it was."

"So if the missing pages were part of that move then they are now in the archives in Ba Sing Se," Sorin said.

"Do you know if the missing pages were a part of that move?" Tau asked Ryu.

Ryu shook his head, "We didn't look at each individual document. There were simply too many. We did look over a few but I don't remember seeing the missing pages. They could possibly still be there however."

"So I am guessing that is where we will be going next," Sorin said.

"It's the best chance we have," Tau shrugged, "Unless you have any other ideas."

Sorin thought for a moment, "No, Ba Sing Se sounds good."

"If that is where we are going then we should probably move out now," Ryu informed.

"What? Why?" Tau asked.

"Once Ba Sing Se learns of what happened at Omashu, they will tighten their security on the archives," Ryu explained.

"I thought Ba Sing Se kept its archives open to the public," Tau said.

Ryu smiled and laughed a little, "Not really. The archives that you are talking about are just a proxy. Sure, it has real documents but the only documents there are about things that are common knowledge."

"Why have them then?" Sorin asked.

"Because it makes people believe that the government is being open with them and therefore, it makes people more comfortable," Ryu said, "the real archives with all of the Earth Kingdom's dirty little secrets are located below the proxy archives."

"Is that where the missing pages will be," Tau questioned.

"It couldn't hurt to look in the proxy archives, they might be there," Ryu crossed his arms, "but more than likely they are in the real archives and those are tightly guarded. Only people with the highest security clearance are allowed into them."

"That might be a problem then," Sorin said, "Omashu was hard enough and Ba Sing Se will be more difficult to get out of if things go wrong again."

"We'll deal with that when we get there," Tau said nonchalantly, "in the mean time I say we take Ryu's advice and head out."

"There are still quite a few patrols out there," Sorin stated.

"We'll be careful then."

Sorin nodded and sat down at the controls and began to prep the airship for launch.

"Just make sure you keep us low to the ground. It makes us harder to spot unless a patrol is right next to us," Tau told him as the ship began to lift off.

"Right, not to mention that we may appear to be a part of the patrol from a distance," Ryu agreed.

Luckily, when they flew out of the crevice, there didn't appear to be anything else around them. Sorin gently guided the ship towards the ground and once they were only a few dozen feet in the air, he began to move the ship forward. Tau and Ryu looked out the windows to try to spot any one of the numerous patrols. Sure enough, Tau spotted some far out in the distance but they only appeared as small black dots so he wasn't worried about that particular group spotting them.

"How does it look guys," Sorin asked as he focused on controlling the ship.

"We are all good," Ryu assured, "No patrols in sight yet."

"Save for a few too far off in the distance to do anything," Tau finished, "just make sure we go slowly. We don't want to run into anything unexpectedly.

"You got it," Sorin smiled.

"It's going to take us a week to get to Omashu going this speed," Ryu observed, "You sure we shouldn't go a little bit faster?"

Tau shrugged, "It's better to move slowly than having to fight off constant waves of soldiers. We need to be as discrete as we can. We can't afford to pull another stunt like we did in Omashu."

Ryu just nodded understandingly. If there was one thing he knew about Tau, it was that the man knew what he was doing, and Ryu wasn't about to start doubting him now.

* * *

><p>Sokka sighed as he leaned against the edge of Appa's saddle. They had been flying for hours now, it was early into the night, and no had said anything yet. Aang stayed on Appa's head and Katara was as far away from that as possible, leaning against the very back of the saddle.<p>

Being between them right now was a little awkward for Sokka. The atmosphere around them was unsettling to say the least. He had tried to occupy his time by sharpening his boomerang but even that got old after a while. Now, he just sat back and tried to ignore the tension surrounding the group.

Looking back, he figured he probably should have stepped into the argument between Aang and Katara but he had felt that they would solve it on their own. They always did but not this time, and Sokka regretted that he hadn't done anything. He understood where Aang was coming from, it was the typical protective boyfriend attitude, but at the same time he was a little disappointed in Aang for trying to leave. Not to mention that he was a little angry at him for hurting his sister.

Speaking of which, Sokka glanced at her worriedly. Her back was to him and if he didn't know any better, he would have thought that she was asleep because of how still she was. He knew she was awake though and he also knew that this problem would have to be solved eventually. He slowly crawled over to Katara and put a hand on her shoulder causing her to turn around and look at him.

"Hey, we need to talk," he said gently.

She sat up straight and faced him, "What do we have to talk about?"

"You know," Sokka told her.

She looked away from him and towards Appa's head, "That's none of your business."

"Sure it is," he said, "You're my sister."

Katara was silent for a minute or two before she spoke up again, "I just don't understand why he said that. I don't know why he would try to leave like that."

"He loves you," Sokka shrugged, "And when people care about someone as much as you two care about each other, they can do some pretty irrational things. Like he said, he was just trying to protect you."

"How could he just leave me like that though?" Katara persisted.

"Because he's Aang. You know how he gets sometimes when something goes wrong. He feels like it's his job to fix what happens in the world and he doesn't want us to risk ourselves to help him," Sokka explained, "Don't you remember all of those other times he has done that? After he woke up from Azula's lightning strike and then there was that one time after the war and he tried to convince us to go home while he stayed to clean up the world. Can you really say that you were all that surprised to find him sneaking away?"

"I had a feeling that he might do something stupid when I was packing," Katara started, "but that doesn't change anything. You don't know what he told me, what he promised me."

"What are you talking about?"

"A few weeks ago," she said a little bitterly, "I was worried that something would happen in the world like what happened in Omashu and he told me that I didn't need to worry about that. He promised that we would solve it together and then the first thing he does when something actually does happen is try to leave me behind and go off on his own. He lied to me. Not to mention he essentially told me that I was just a burden to carry along with him."

"Katara, Aang didn't mean that," Sokka told her sympathetically, "he was just stressed and he was trying to convince you to stay and he said things he didn't mean."

Katara shook her head sadly, "But it's true Sokka, whether he meant it or not. He's the Avatar. Why would he need either of us?"

"Don't think that," he said, hugging her to try to give her some comfort, "Aang does need you and you know it. You are his emotional support; you're what keeps him going."

"Yeah, he told me that before to," Katara murmured, "and look at what he said today."

"Katara…" he sighed exasperated.

"Can we just stop talking about it now," she pleaded, "I'm going to try to get some sleep."

Sokka sighed again as his sister turned away from him to lie down. He didn't really think he had gotten anywhere with their conversation except now he knew that this was something that they would have to work out on their own. At the same time, he knew they never would unless they were able to be alone for a bit and that would not happen as long as they were on Appa. Sokka thought of an idea that would give them an opportunity to talk to each other and to his delight, the idea that popped in his head seemed to work out for his own purposes to.

Once he was sure that Katara was asleep he went up to peak over the front of the saddle and saw Aang lying on Appa's head.

"Aang, you awake?"

"Yeah," Aang answered softly.

"I want to ask you something," Sokka told him, "get up here."

Aang sighed as he climbed up onto the saddle, "What is it?"

Sokka was silent for a few moments as he studied the boy in front of him. He looked like a mess. Dried up tear lines framed his face and his eyes were red. _I guess the argument is hurting him as much as it did Katara, _he thought.

"Sokka…" Aang started, drawing the older boy from his thoughts.

"Oh yeah, right," Sokka shook his head as he regained focus, "I was just thinking that it might be a good idea to stop by at Kyoshi Island. We should be able to get there by morning and Appa has to rest sometime. "

Aang shook his head, "Mai said we need to get to Omashu as soon as we can."

"We will only be there for a day," Sokka persisted.

"Did you want to see if Suki could join us? Is this what this is about?" Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Yes…among other things," Sokka answered cryptically.

Aang looked at him skeptically for a few moments, trying to figure out his other motives, "I guess it couldn't hurt," he conceded, starting to make his way back onto Appa's head.

"Wait Aang," Sokka grabbed his arm to stop him, "I'll fly Appa for now, you get some rest."

Aang nodded slowly before looking across the saddle and spotted Katara's sleeping form and Sokka swore that he could see guilt flashing across the younger boy's eyes.

"Is she mad at me?" Aang whispered.

"What do you think," Sokka said a little sternly.

Aang sighed, "I can't believe that I had even said that to her."

"Yeah, you were pretty much a jerk," Sokka said bluntly causing Aang to glare at him.

"Thanks for that," he muttered sarcastically.

"Don't mention it," Sokka shrugged, "just calling it like I see it."

Aang looked down at his lap, "Are you mad at me to."

"For what?" Sokka asked, "For trying to leave us behind or for hurting my sister?"

"Either."

"Look Aang," Sokka said gently, pausing for a few moments until Aang looked back up at him, "I know your reasons and I understand them but I also think you were being incredibly stupid. I am not mad at you for trying to leave…I guess I am just a little disappointed. I thought you learned a long time ago to not try to go at it alone."

Aang's head fell at Sokka's words but he heard the older boy continue.

"As for my sister…you better make it up to her soon, or else I will be mad," he finished sternly.

"I'm sorry Sokka," Aang said.

Sokka shook his head, "Apologize to her. She doubts a lot of what you have told her now."

"I didn't mean what I said…"

"I know you didn't," Sokka interrupted, "but she feels that there is some truth to what you said, whether you meant it or not."

Aang sighed and held his head in his heads, "Do you think she'll forgive me?"

"Of course she will," Sokka assured, "it'll take a lot more than that for her to stop loving you, trust me. You just need to talk to her and clear things up okay."

Aang nodded and after a few moments, Sokka decided to hop on to Appa's head so Aang could rest.

Sokka took hold of Appa's reins and gently steered him towards the direction of Kyoshi Island, hoping that when he got there, Suki would welcome him with open arms and that Aang would manage to mend things with his sister.

* * *

><p><strong>So I know this isn't the happiest chapter in the fic but I hope you enjoyed reading it nonetheless. For those of you not liking Kataang arguments, you should know by reading the end of this chapter that it will be resolved pretty quickly so no need to fret about it.:)<strong>


	11. Relationship Mending

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>Sokka awoke the next morning to the sound of Appa's grunting. He rubbed his eyes and sat up straight to find himself on Appa's head, <em>I must have dozed off. <em>After spending a few seconds looking around, Sokka saw why Appa had woken him; Kyoshi Island could be seen off in the distance. They would probably reach it in a few minutes so he climbed up onto the saddle to wake his two companions, who were resting on opposite sides of the saddle.

Sokka sighed as he gently shook Aang awake. The younger boy's eyes shot open as he sat up a looked around, finally setting his eyes on Sokka.

"Hey, what is it?" Aang asked.

"We're close to Kyoshi Island," Sokka explained, "we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Well that's good," Aang said tiredly causing Sokka to look at him skeptically.

"Did you sleep last night?" he asked.

Aang shook his head and rubbed his eyes, "Not much."

Following Aang's comment, an uncomfortable silence hung between the two for a few moments until Sokka finally decided to speak up, "Listen, you guide Appa; I'll wake up and explain things to Katara, okay?"

Aang nodded as he slowly made his way over to Appa's head while Sokka crawled towards the back of the saddle to wake up his sister.

The young Waterbender woke up when she felt him shake her awake and she regarded him speculatively, "Is something wrong?"

Sokka shook his head as Katara sat up, "No, I just thought you should know that we're almost at Kyoshi Island."

"Kyoshi Island?" Katara tilted her head at him.

"Aang and I thought it would be a good idea to stop there to let Appa rest," Sokka explained.

"Right, so Suki has nothing to do with it?" Katara looked at him knowingly.

"No, she's part of the reason to," Sokka shrugged his shoulders, "I just wasn't going to mention it to you."

"You think she'll join us?" Katara asked him.

"If she is ready then I don't see why not," he answered hopefully.

Katara nodded as she looked away from her brother so look around the rest of Appa's saddle, "Where's Aang?"

"Guiding Appa," Sokka jerked his thumb towards Appa's head.

Katara just sat back while crossing her arms as she grunted to let Sokka know that she heard him.

"Are you still mad at him?" he asked.

"Why should I not be?" Katara answered with another question.

Sokka shook his head, why would he expect things to be better between them. It's not like anything happened overnight, "You can't stay mad at him forever you know?"

Katara just looked away thoughtfully, biting her lip while gazing out into the horizon and it took Sokka a few moments to realize that she wasn't going to acknowledge him. There wouldn't have been time to talk anyway as a few seconds later, Sokka heard Aang shout up from Appa's head.

"We're here," he yelled.

Sokka quickly made his way to the front to the saddle to look and sure enough, Appa was slowly descending onto the island where the whole town had gathered to welcome the group.

The sky bison softly landed next to Avatar Kyoshi's statue as the crowd of people cheered and clapped. Aang gave a small smile and waved at the large group of people as Sokka hopped off the saddle along with Katara. After making sure Appa was comfortable, Aang hopped off of Appa as well to join his companions.

"I have to admit," Sokka said, standing between Aang and Katara, "I kind of missed the hero worship."

Before Aang or Katara could respond, Oyaji pushed his way through the crowd to greet the group.

"Welcome back," he greeted, clasping his hands together, "it's an honor to have you here with us again."

"It's great to be here," Aang smiled.

"So, where's Suki?" Sokka asked the town's leader anxiously.

Oyaji laughed, "Straight to the point I see. Last I saw her she was transferring some paperwork over to the new leader of the Kyoshi Warriors earlier this morning."

"Told you she would be ready soon," Katara smirked at her brother.

"Yeah, yeah," Sokka waved his hands in a shooing motion at her, "you're right, blah blah blah."

She put her hands on her hips and glared daggers at him as he once again started speaking with Oyaji, "So where was she doing that?"

Before Oyaji could answer a figure swiftly broke through the crowd of people still gathered around and through its arms around Sokka. His heart leaped in excitement as he felt a pair of lips against his and he quickly realized who it was.

"Suki!" he exclaimed, breaking away to look at her.

She laughed and pulled him into a hug, "I missed you Sokka," she said softly.

"I missed you too," he responded, "more then you know. What took you so long?"

Suki broke away and grinned at him, "Let's go someplace a little more private before we talk about that okay?"

"Okay," Sokka swiftly pecked her on the lips as Katara walked up to them.

Suki broke away from Sokka to turn her attention to her friend, "Katara, it's good to see you too."

Katara smiled as Suki pulled her into a hug as well, "Likewise".

Suki pulled away to see Aang walking up from behind Katara and she nodded at him in acknowledgment, "Aang."

"Hey Suki," he smiled, "how are you doing?"

"Besides being up in my ears in work for the past few months…doing great," Suki smiled.

"Okay, enough of the greetings," Sokka interjected, before turning to Suki anxiously, "can we find someplace to talk more privately?"

Suki nodded and waved goodbye to Aang and Katara as Sokka pulled her away from the group.

"You wouldn't believe how much she missed him."

Katara turned to see Oyaji walking up to her and Aang, "The same could be said for him too," she grinned before adding, "He was starting to drive me crazy."

Oyaju laughed, "They'll work it out. In the mean time, I could have your guest house prepared within a few hours."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Aang said," we are only staying for one night. We could just find some place to camp out."

"Nonsense," Oyaji waved his hands towards him, "You are our guests. It would be disrespectful to not provide you a place to stay."

"I guess if you're sure…" Aang started.

"It's no trouble at all, trust me," Oyaji assured, "would you like me to have your bags stored in the house to?"

"No," Katara interjected, "we'll just leave them on Appa since we are only staying here for a day. I don't think it is worth the effort to unpack everything."

"Very well then, I will let you know when your rooms are ready," Oyaji said before walking away, leaving Aang and Katara alone. The crowd had dissipated sometime during the conversation.

"So…" Aang started, looking at her intently before he was interrupted by a bunch of yelling from behind him.

"Aaangy!"

He turned around to see Koko and her friends waving at him and he waved back, "Hey…Koko."

Katara scowled behind him and she swiftly walked off. Aang turned around confused. Katara had long since stopped being jealous, so what had gotten her worked up now? Aang sighed as he realized that she was still angry with him, and she probably just didn't want to deal with him at the moment, especially when he was surrounded by his group of fan girls.

"Is she mad at you or something," Koko asked, walking up to him as the rest of her friends stayed a good distance away.

"Yeah," Aang murmured, continuing to watch is girlfriend walk away from him.

"What'd you do?"

Aang shook his head, "I just made a mistake and it hurt her when I said some things I didn't mean."

"Well go apologize," Koko said simply.

"I will, I just…"

"Don't know how to?" Koko finished for him.

Aang nodded," We almost never get into an argument. This is like new territory for us and I'm not quite sure how to deal with it."

"Just admit that you were wrong and that you were being an idiot," Koko shrugged.

"I think it's a little more complicated than that," Aang said, watching as Katara escaped his view as she entered one of the many shops in the town.

"Trust me, just talk to her," Koko told him, "what do you have to lose?"

Aang finally turned to look at her and for the first time, he was a bit surprised at how much she had changed from when he had first met her. She was a lot more mature now, that was the most obvious thing and Aang felt that he should just take her advice. She was a girl and she probably knew what she was talking about, "I'll do that, it probably would be a good idea to get her something special to" he finally said thoughtfully, "thanks Koko."

"Anytime," she said, "I'll leave you alone now though. It's good to see you again."

"You to," Aang said as she turned and walked back to her friends.

Aang quickly realized though that while Koko had seemed to mature, the other ones still kept their fan-girlish behavior. He shook his head and smiled as the group of girls chorused, "Bye Aangy!"

Aang waved at them before walking through the town to try to find something to give Katara. He felt that after what he had said, she deserved something nice. Although he knew that it wouldn't make her automatically forgive him, hopefully it would show her how truly sorry he was.

* * *

><p>Suki closed the doors behind them as she and Sokka entered the Kyoshi Warrior's dojo. The place was empty; all of the other warriors had left for the day so they had the place to themselves for the moment.<p>

"So now that we are here," Suki said, turning around to face Sokka, "Ask away."

"Well," Sokka started, "I guess the thing I am wondering the most is what has been taking you so long? Six months seems like a long time for handing over leadership of the Kyoshi Warriors."

"It took longer than I expected it to," Suki told him, before adding sadly "Unfortunately, the person who I had in mind to take over backed out at the last minute. Her mother became very sick and she left temporarily to take care of her. After her mother passed away, she didn't want to take the leadership position anymore so Oyaji and I had to look for another suitable replacement. It turned out to be harder than I thought it would be."

"Oh," Sokka paused for a few moments before speaking to her again, "What was so hard about picking someone out of the group though. It's not like there are a lot of you."

"Being the leader is a little more than just being a good fighter," she explained, "You have to be able to command well and keep yourself under control in combat situations. I wanted to make sure that the right person filled in my place. It just took a lot of time to be sure about it, that's all."

"That's it?" Sokka looked at her skeptically.

"Yes Sokka," she laughed a little, "and for the record, there was never another guy either."

"Wha-what are you talking about, I never m-mentioned another guy," Sokka stuttered, surprised by Suki's comment.

"Not now you didn't," Suki grinned, "but in that nice little note you sent me, you spent a good amount of time complaining about that."

"Oh…you got that?" Sokka asked.

"Sure did," Suki answered, walking over to a small shelf that had a small piece of paper on it, "This is actually it right here."

Sokka watched as she grabbed it and opened it up.

"I actually found it a little funny," she told him, "I'm not quite sure what you were thinking when you wrote it but it was…amusing to say the least."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, "I worked really hard on that."

"Well," Suki explained, "this sounds something more like a complaint letter than something that you would send to your girlfriend."

"It doesn't sound like a complaint letter," Sokka argued, crossing his arms, "I put my heart into that thing…figuratively speaking."

Suki laughed at him, "You must be talking about a different letter then because there's no way it's this one," She waved the paper out in front of her.

"Oh, please," he rolled his eyes, "read one complaint in that letter."

"Ok then, this is the first few sentences" Suki smiled before reading, "What could possibly be taking you so long? How can handing over the Kyoshi Warriors possibly take six months? Are you taking your sweet time or something? This is getting ridiculous."

"Oh, well," Sokka felt himself blush, "That was just the beginning. I just needed to get the message across that's all."

"You know, I would believe that if you didn't follow up with this," Suki said before reading the next few lines, "Is there another guy or something because I am really starting to wonder? It's driving me insane, thinking that you are off with someone else. There better not be another guy or else..."

"Well I…" Sokka started but Suki quickly interrupted him.

"The rest of the letter goes on in pretty much the same way to," she said, "it's just complaint questions one after another."

"Okay now that is not true," Sokka said defensively, pointing a finger at her "I told you I missed you."

"You did?"

"Yeah," Sokka nodded, "look towards the bottom."

Suki raised her eyebrows at him before looking back at the page, squinting her eyes a little, "Oh yeah, you squeezed it in at the very bottom of the page."

"It is still there though," Sokka smiled at her triumphantly.

"Yeah, as an afterthought," she giggled, slowly walking back over to him after setting the letter back on the shelf.

"Okay, I admit it," he sighed, "writing letters is not one of my strong points."

"You can say that again," she smirked, "you didn't think about getting some help?"

"Well actually, Aang helped me," he told her, "He is the one that said to put my heart on the paper."

Suki gazed at him for a few moments, "Your heart told you to complain to me throughout the whole letter?"

"What can I say," he shrugged, "I was releasing pent up emotions."

"Well if you want my advice," Suki placed her hands on his shoulders, "don't write the letter next time."

"Oh, come on it wasn't that bad," Sokka stated.

"Seeing you in person is a lot better though," Suki smiled, leaning closer to him, "and I get to do this."

Sokka raised his eyebrows but lowered them when he felt her lips against his as he wrapped his arms around her, "Well how about we spend the next few minutes releasing some other pent up emotions right now?" he muttered.

"You read my mind," she grinned, and the kiss that followed led to another, and another, and another.

* * *

><p>"Here it is. I hope you find it comfortable."<p>

"Thank you Oyaji," Katara said, turning to the old man to bow in thanks.

"No thank you," Oyaji bowed back, "let me know if there is anything you or your friends need."

"I will," Katara nodded before turning back to look around the guest house that had been prepared for her and her companions.

Oyaji smiled, seeing that she was satisfied and quietly walked out of the house as Katara continued to look around. It wasn't big, it didn't need to be, but it suited their needs for the night. There were some cushions spread across the room and there were a few doors leading to some bedrooms and one small bathroom.

Katara walked around the room and opened a few of the doors to see what the bedrooms were like. Most of them just had simple, single beds but one of them had a bed for two and the first thought that came to Katara's mind as she stood in the doorway of the room was that that is the bed that she and Aang would be using.

_Aang…_

Her thoughts drifted to her boyfriend, her soul mate, and she felt a mixture of feelings flow through her. She didn't want to be mad at him but she couldn't help it. He had lied to her, practically cast her off as useless, and though she knew deep down that he hadn't meant it, she couldn't get past what he said.

After all, as far as she knew, there was some truth to it. Just as she had told her brother the night before, he was the Avatar and most likely, he would be able to handle situations on his own now. It made her feel like dead weight, that she was just a burden for him to carry around. She hated feeling like that. She liked to think that she had some sort of purpose in their group whether it is to protect him or to simply just be there to assist him, but he was the Avatar, the most powerful being in the world. He didn't need protection…right? The problem was Katara had always felt the need to protect him, but now she thought that she had just been kidding herself. She felt that she had just been making up her own duty to make herself feel useful and judging by what Aang had said, she knew that that was exactly the case.

A little part of her mind however, tried to tell her different. It tried to tell her that she was more than that to Aang, more than a burden, and the conflicting emotions confused her. She didn't know what to believe. Was she just kidding herself by believing her destiny was to protect him, or was her destiny really just as she thought it was? She wanted to believe the latter but Aang's words forced her into believing otherwise.

Katara sighed and walked over to sit on the bed, holding her head in her hands. She wanted nothing more right now then for him to come in and take everything back. She wanted to hear him tell her that she was needed and that she was not as useless as she felt at the moment. More than anything however, she wanted to feel him hold her like he would do so many times at night. It was then that Katara made her decision, if he didn't come to her by the end of the day, then she would confront him.

If there was one thing she was absolutely sure of, it was that she didn't want to go to bed angry at him again.

* * *

><p>"Sokka?"<p>

"Hmm."

"One thing bothers me."

"What is it?" Sokka looked at her. For the past few minutes they had just been resting against the wall. Suki had had her head on his shoulder and they had just been holding each other, glad to be together again. Sokka had pulled away a little however to look at his girlfriend but they were still sitting shoulder to shoulder.

"Well I just find it weird that you would come here right after sending me a letter," Suki told him, "What was the point in sending it when you were coming the next day anyway."

Sokka sighed, knowing that he would have to explain the incident in Omashu to her, "We weren't originally going to come to Kyoshi Island. I didn't even know that we were going to leave the South Pole at the time I sent the letter but Aang got a message from Omashu that told us to come right away."

"Why what happened?" Suki raised her eyebrows at him.

"We don't really know yet. All that the message said was that someone had attacked Omashu and then stole one of Zuko's airships," Sokka paused before adding, "Zuko was injured as well."

"Does anyone know who the attacker is?"

Sokka shook his head, "All they know was that one of the attackers was a Waterbender. He is the one that had hurt Zuko."

Suki remained quiet for a few moments as she shifted to make herself more comfortable, "So you guys stopped by here just to rest for a day then?"

"Well that and…well…," Sokka blushed slightly and looked her in the eye, "I was hoping that you would come with us…if you're ready."

"Well I had just finished all of the paper work for the leadership transfer this morning," Suki started, "I was hoping I would get at least a three days rest but I guess I could leave with you guys tomorrow."

"Suki, if you're not ready to leave yet I understand, we could probably find some time to pick you up later," Sokka told her.

"No," she shook her head, "it's fine, really. I'm sure I'll get plenty of rest on the way there. It's not like we are going to get to Omashu in a day right?"

"Right," Sokka nodded, "It takes a few days to get there at least."

"I thought so," Suki rested her head back on his shoulder.

The two of them remained silent for a few minutes until Sokka spoke up again, "So…you'll come?"

Suki smiled and pulled away from him again, "Of course, you think I am going to stay behind while you go on some wild goose chase?"

He let out a short laugh, "I suppose not."

"I will just need to pack my bags tonight," she told him.

"I'll help if you want me to," he stood up and helped her up as well.

"That'd be nice," she smiled, before stopping them when Sokka began to pull her away, "Can I ask you one more thing though?"

Sokka turned around to look at her, "Sure."

"It's about Aang and Katara."

"What about them?" he asked, though he already knew what she was going to bring up.

"Is there something wrong with them?" Suki questioned, "They seemed a little…distant from each other."

"Yeah," Sokka sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "they got in an argument when we left and now Katara is mad at him."

"How'd that happen?" Suki looked at him curiously, "I didn't think they argued that much."

"They don't, but Aang tried to leave us behind at the South Pole yesterday because he thought it would be too dangerous for us…"

"Typical Aang," Suki interrupted.

"Typical Aang," Sokka agreed nodding, "Anyway, as you could imagine, that didn't particularly please Katara all that much. They got in this big argument. Katara was screaming and eventually Aang started yelling and next thing I knew, Aang had yelled at Katara about how he didn't need her and well…you could probably guess how she felt about that."

"She has to know that that is not true though," Suki stated, slightly shocked.

"She should," Sokka agreed once again, "but they always had relied on each other and I think hearing Aang say that affected her more than I had initially thought. Apparently Aang had made promises to her and he didn't follow through with them and now Katara just doubts some of the things he had told her. She feels a little bit like a burden to him right now."

"So this was a pretty big argument," Suki surmised.

Sokka nodded and crossed his arms, "I understand why she feels the way she does. Aang is a fully realized Avatar now. He needed all of us during the war but now he is stronger and it's hard not to feel like her and I are just tagging along for the fun of it. The one thing that Katara is forgetting though is that Aang needs someone to hold on to. He lost his whole race, his entire culture, and without Katara I don't really think he would be as effective as he is. I know that she knows that to. She told me a few weeks ago that Aang told her that she had replaced the Air Nomads to him. She just needs to remember that."

"Well I hope they work it out soon," Suki said.

"That is actually another reason I suggested to Aang that we come here,"" Sokka replied, "I am hoping that they will find some place to be alone and work it out."

"So you're essentially engineering a scenario to allow them to make up," Suki smiled, "I didn't think you cared that much Sokka."

"Hey," Sokka said defensively, "I may complain about them acting all mushy in front of me but I like to know my sister is happy. If Aang is the one that brings her that happiness then I will do what I can to help."

Suki smiled wider at him and kissed his cheek, "That's sweet, let's just hope they took the chance you gave them."

"Pray to the spirits they do," Sokka told her, "because if they don't, riding on Appa is going to be really awkward."

"You sound like you have some experience with that," Suki laughed.

"Yesterday was almost unbearable," Sokka shrugged, "but enough about them. Let's go get you packed up."

Suki gave him a small smile and nodded as she took his hand to lead him towards her own home.

* * *

><p>Aang walked through the forest later that day in search for Katara. It was nearly night time; the sun was almost completely down and the moon was high in the sky. It made it a little difficult for Aang to see where he was going but he was able to manage it. After all, he knew where he would be able to find Katara.<p>

After his talk with Koko earlier, he had spent the next several hours looking for a present to give to his precious soul mate. He had eventually found something that satisfied him and he had quickly made his way to their guest house to apologize to her, but to his disappointment she wasn't there. However, he knew her, probably better than anyone, and it didn't take him long to figure out where she would be.

When Katara was upset, she would always either come to him or she would go practice waterbending. And since he was the one she was upset at, Aang knew that she would probably be on the shoreline bending her element. At first he thought it would still be difficult to find her. She could be anywhere on the shore but he felt as though he knew exactly where she was. It was as if he was being pulled to her and he could only guess that it was their bond that allowed him to know her location.

He followed what he was feeling and as he came to the edge of the forest and to the beginning of the beach, he saw that he was right. She was standing on the shoreline, ankle deep in water, slowly maneuvering a stream of water around her. He crouched behind a bush to just admire her for a moment. He loved watching her waterbend. The graceful way she would control the water always had amazed him and as he watched her under the moon's light, she seemed surreal to him.

He reached his hand into his pocket and took out the gift he had gotten her to inspect it as he held it in his palm. It wasn't anything complicated. It was simply a small silver ring that had a purple gem placed securely into it. Part of him wondered if it would be enough for her but at the same time, he remembered that she was never the girl that desired expensive jewelry. He took a deep breath, closed his palm around the small ring, and stepped out from behind the bush to approach her slowly.

"Katara?" he said cautiously once he was only a few feet away from her.

The sound of his voice caused her to instantly drop the water she had been holding and she swiftly turned around to face him. To his surprise, he didn't see any anger in her eyes, nor did he feel any in their connection. He closed his eyes for a moment in relief; _maybe this will be easier than I thought._

"I know you may have mixed feeling about me right now," he started, forcing himself to look her in the eyes, "but I just need you to know how sorry I am. I never wanted to hurt you Katara and I have been beating myself up about this ever since yesterday morning. I want you to be happy, that is all I ever wanted but in my desire to keep you safe, I took that happiness from you and I never wanted to do that."

Katara remained quiet for a few moments to process what he had said as he looked away from her. His words seemed heartfelt and she couldn't help but notice that a few tears had gathered in his eyes. Still, she felt that she couldn't let him off the hook that easily, "You promised that we would handle problems together."

"I know," he said quietly.

"And you tried to leave anyway," she crossed her arms.

"I know," he repeated.

"Why Aang?" she questioned, "When I was worried about something bad happening weeks ago, do you know what stopped my worrying? Do you know what I took comfort in?"

Aang looked at her and shook his head.

"The fact that you told me that we would solve the problems together," she told him, keeping her voice at a respectable level, "When we got that letter from Mai, I felt like I didn't have too much to worry about…but then you had to try to leave. You didn't even tell me what you were planning. You tried to sneak off behind my back but you know what makes it all even worse? You told me that our connection was based on trust but you didn't even bother to tell me what you were doing and you lied to me! What is that supposed to make me think? I thought we were supposed to be completely honest with each other and I had been completely open towards you after we bonded. I didn't hold anything back…and it breaks my heart that you tried to," she finished, closing her eyes and looking towards the ground.

Aang's eye's fell at her words. He knew that she was completely right. Despite his desire to be connected with her, he had gone against what their connection was about and that very connection allowed him to feel her heartbreak. A few tears ran down his cheeks and he looked up at her to see that she had produced a few tears as well. He cautiously reached up to brush her tears away with his thumb and he was rewarded by a small smile from her.

"I'm so sorry Katara," Aang told her, cupping her cheek, "I know that I hurt the trust we share but please…don't lose you trust in me completely. I was being an idiot…I don't really know what else to say."

Katara closed her eyes and relaxed into his hand. She felt a lot of things coming from him; adoration, love, but most of all, guilt. "I still trust you Aang," she whispered.

He stoked her cheek for a few moments before pulling it back, causing Katara to open her eyes at the loss of contact. He took one of her hands in his and brought his other hand over to place his gift in her palm, "I promise I will never do anything like that again Katara," he said as he closed her palm around his gift, "and I promise that whatever happens; I want you by my side as long as I am alive. I need you and I don't ever want you to feel worthless again because you're not. You are my whole world."

She smiled at his words, pulling her hand away to open her palm to see what he had placed in it, and she gasped at what she saw. Though the ring that she held was rather simple, it looked beautiful to her and the meaning behind it made it seem even more special. The purple gem seemed to glisten in the moonlight and she felt a few more tears gather in her eyes, though this time, they were tears of joy. His words were completely heartfelt, and she felt a surge of love rush through her that made her heart flutter.

"Aang," she whispered looking up at the boy standing in front of her, "you…you didn't have to get me this."

"I know, but I wanted to," he smiled, "it was the least I could do."

"It's beautiful…I love it" she shared his smile and gazed back down at the ring. She carefully slid it onto her left ring finger as if it was one of the most precious things in the world and she held her hand out to marvel at it.

Aang's smile widened as he saw how much she like it and he felt her swiftly pull him into a tight hug. She kissed his neck a few times before nuzzling her head against him and he happily returned her embrace.

"I forgive you," she whispered and he felt her smile against his skin as she repeated the words, "I forgive you."

Aang breathed out a sigh of relief and he held her tighter, nuzzling his head into her hair. The couple stood there glad to be in each other's arms again. He stroked her back gently while his other hand ran through her hair. She in turn, traced her hand up and down the arrow on his back as she lovingly stroked the back of his head with her other hand, loving the feel of the soft skin there. After a few minutes of this, Katara let out a soft yawn.

Aang pulled away a little and smiled at her, "Do you want to head back to the house?"

"That'd be nice," she nodded and before she could move anywhere, Aang picked her up bridal style, causing her to produce a short gasp, "I can walk you know," she smiled and snuggled herself into his chest, feeling a small rumbling as he laughed a little.

"I know, but that doesn't mean you have to," he kissed her forehead.

She sighed and closed her eyes, letting him carry her back to the house. By the time they got there, she was already half asleep and she barely registered him placing her on the bed and climbing in next to her as he pulled the covers over them tiredly. Neither had slept well the night before and they could both feel the exhaustion creeping over them.

Katara forced her eyes open to gaze at the boy next to her and he met her eyes with his. They seemed to get lost in each other and she instinctively leaned forward to give him a soft kiss. He kissed her back, placing his hands lazily on her hips as she placed hers on his shoulders. They didn't take the kiss any farther, they were too tired. Instead, they just kept the gentle kiss for a few minutes and the only movements they would make was when they felt the need to scoot a little closer to the other.

Eventually, they were close enough that their bodies were pressed together and their legs were tangled up under the bed sheets. Katara broke the kiss and moved her head down to rest it against his chest once more.

"Hold me," she requested gently, giving in to her desires that she had had earlier in the day.

A few moments later, she felt his arms wrap around her tightly as he rested his head on hers after giving her forehead a soft kiss.

"I love you," he whispered into her hair before adding questionably, "Kat?" He was unsure if he should be calling her by her nickname again. He didn't ever since their argument because he felt that she wouldn't appreciate it since she was angry at him. Now that they had made up; he wasn't sure how soon it would be until she was okay with the pet name.

Katara smiled softly against him, "I'm fine with you calling me that again, you know I like it...I love you too."

He smiled and rubbed her back, slowly coaxing her to sleep. He felt her breathing even out to a slow and steady rhythm as her sleeping form snuggled closer to him and it wasn't long before he allowed sleep to overtake him as well.

* * *

><p><strong>So I don't know why, but for some reason, this chapter turned out to be the hardest to write...I am not sure if that showed<strong>. **I think it turned out well though. **

**Please review. Review make me want to write more which means chapters would be posted a little faster. I hate to be a beggar but I know there are quite a bit of people reading this and the reviews don't have to be long or anything. Longer reviews are always appreciated but simple things like 'Good chapter' will do if you happen to like it. Anonymous reviews are enabled too so you know, you guys that don't have an account can still review. I'm not going to be one of those people that will refuse to update until I have X amount of reviews...I am not like that, but still, having more reviews does make me work a little more so maybe these once a week updates could turn into twice a week on a more consistent basis.:)  
><strong>


	12. Two Groups, Two Destinations

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>Sokka led Suki into their guest house the next morning with the intention of waking up Aang and Katara. It was already well into the morning and there had still been no sign of either of them, which Sokka found a little odd. He had spent the night at Suki's house so he had no idea what had transpired between his sister and the Avatar the night before but he had hopes that they had worked things out.<p>

In the case that they were still asleep, Sokka and Suki walked quietly throughout the house, slowly opening each of the doors until they finally opened the one that the younger couple was peacefully sleeping in. In spite of himself, Sokka felt himself smile at the two, seeing that they were sleeping side by side with their arms around each other. They had worked it out and Sokka let out a sigh of relief at the revelation.

"Find them?" Suki asked, walking over to him from the other side of the main room.

"Yeah," Sokka whispered so he would not wake the sleeping couple, "it looks like everything is fine between them now."

"That's good," Suki whispered back, "you still want to wake them up?"

Sokka thought for a few moments. He knew they needed to get to Omashu as soon as possible but would it really hurt to stay at Kyoshi Island for a few more hours? Sokka looked at the younger couple again and upon seeing the small smile that was on his sister's face, he made his decision, "No, let's let them sleep for a few more hours. They didn't get much sleep the night before anyways...they could use the rest."

"You sure?" Suki asked him.

He nodded, "It won't hurt to stay a few more hours."

"We should at least get all of my stuff packed onto Appa so we can go ahead and leave once they wake up," Suki suggested.

"Yeah, good idea. Let's go," Sokka closed the door to the bedroom slowly before quietly leading Suki out of the house to gather her belongings.

* * *

><p>Sorin gladly switched positions with Ryu when the earthbender had suggested that he fly the airship for a while to give Sorin some much needed rest. Sorin had been flying it ever since yesterday without stopping while Tau and Ryu had been able to get some sleep. He would be lying if he were to say that he wasn't grateful that Ryu had offered to take control of the airship.<p>

"Just remember to fly it slowly," he informed the earth bender, "there are still quite a bit Earth Kingdom patrols running around out there."

"Don't worry, I got it," Ryu assured, "just go get some sleep."

Sorin simply nodded and after standing around for a few moments to make sure Ryu could handle the airship alone without any problems, he finally turned and left the control room and headed for the sleeping quarters. Since the airship was built for the Fire Nation royalty, the bedrooms were actually high quality for a military vessel. Tau had of course claimed the Fire Lord's room and Ryu and Sorin had picked out rooms that had belonged to the Fire Lord's highest ranking officials. As Sorin walked passed Tau's room, the waterbender happened to walk out of it right at that moment.

"Ryu is flying the ship?" he guessed upon seeing that Sorin wasn't at the controls.

Sorin nodded, "He offered to take control of it for a while. It's a good thing to. I feel exhausted."

"Understandable," Tau nodded back, before he began to walk away to allow Sorin to go onto his room.

"Wait, Tau!" Sorin called out as his leader turned around in acknowledgment, "can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course, what is it?" Tau asked, leaning against the metal wall of the hallway.

"It's about the Avatar," Sorin started.

Tau crossed his arms. He had learned rather quickly that Sorin was not a big fan of his idea to get the Avatar involved in their journey, "What about him?"

"I know I have said this before, but is bringing him into this really the best idea?" Sorin questioned.

"I told you Sorin, we might need him if we are unable to find the missing pages to Kuruk's journal," Tau said calmly.

"But how do you plan to get him to help us. He won't do it willingly, you know that," Sorin argued.

"Well, I am hoping that he will be coming alone," Tau explained, "that way if we do need him, all we would have to do is find him, wait for him to go to sleep, and then attack him while he is vulnerable. Once he is in our possession, we could do a number of things. Threaten him, blackmail him, and though I would rather use it as a last resort...we could torture him into helping us. It's not something I would prefer to do but if it is necessary to reach our goal then I would gladly do it."

Sorin gazed at his friend skeptically for a few moments, "And what if he doesn't come alone? That would make it a little harder to just walk in there and take him."

Tau smiled confidently, "We'll figure it out when the time comes. The advantage that we have against him right now is that we know exactly who he is while he is mostly in the dark about us. It will make it harder for him to find us and easier for us to find him. I plan to take advantage of that."

Sorin remained silent for a few moments as he thought about what Tau had said, "I just hope you know what you're doing," he sighed.

"Trust me Sorin," Tau assured, pushing himself off the wall, "Everything is under control."

The fire bender nodded as he watched Tau turn around and head for the control room to help Ryu. Sorin stood there for a minute or two, thinking about the conversation he had just had. He was a little surprised that Tau was willing to go as far as using torture to reach their goal. It wasn't usually Tau's way of doing things. Sorin just hoped that it wouldn't come to that. He didn't think it would. As far as he knew, the Avatar always travelled with companions which would require Tau to take a different approach to the Avatar.

Sorin shook his head, coming out of his thoughts as he headed towards his room to get his much needed rest.

* * *

><p>Aang yawned slightly when he woke up. He was still a little tired but judging by the light in the room, it was almost midday. A small part in the back of his mind told him that he needed to get up but upon noticing that the love of his life was still sleeping peacefully in his arms, he didn't have it in himself to get up just yet. Instead he just laid there and continued to hold her, brushing one of his hands through her hair to work out the knots to try to save some time when she woke up.<p>

She murmured in her sleep sometimes when his hand would get caught in one of the knots of hair as he untangled it out but otherwise she continued to sleep peacefully, a small smile visible on her face.. After several minutes, Aang was finally able to undo all, or at least most of the knots which meant that he was free to run his hand through her silky hair without a fear of waking her.

He didn't know how long he was lying like there but after a while he decided it was time to get up and get ready to go. The hand that was stroking her hair stopped as he started to sit up but he was halted when Katara's grip tightened on him.

"Don't stop," she murmured.

At first Aang thought that she had just said that in her sleep but when he looked down at her, he saw her pleading blue eyes staring up at him. He smiled at her affectionately and laid back down beside her to resume what he had been doing.

"We're going to have to leave sometime you know?" he told her softly.

"I know," she sighed, "Just give me a few more minutes."

Aang hummed in acknowledgment and kissed the top of her head, "So how long had you been awake before."

"Mmm, just a couple of minutes," she told him quietly.

Aang nodded and the two remained silent for the next several minutes as Katara reveled in Aang's ministrations.

"You know, I love it when you run your hand through my hair like that," she told him lazily as her eyes closed.

Aang gave out a short laugh, "Why do you think I do it so much? I know you like it…I like it to."

"I can tell. You should see the look on you face sometimes when you run your hands through it," Katara teased him.

He blushed slightly at her comment and held her tighter, "I can't help it. It feels nice."

"Mmhm," she hummed as she felt him begin to twirl a few strands of hair around his fingers, "though I am a little curious as to what you would do if I cut it."

Aang suddenly stopped and pulled away from her slightly which cause her to look up at him, "Don't…please."

She laughed at his pleading expression, he looked as if he had just found out Bumi had died, "Calm down Aang, I won't cut it. It was rhetorical."

"Oh, that's good," he sighed in relief as he scooted closer to her again only to feel her get up off of the bed.

"Though, now would be a good time to get up and moving," she told him.

"Yeah, you're right. We spent too much time here as it is," Aang agreed, albeit a little reluctantly, and forced himself out of bed.

Before walking out of the room Katara looked at herself in a nearby mirror and she grunted in disgust.

"What's wrong?" Aang asked her, concerned.

"Oh, my cloths just got all wrinkled," she complained, running her hands along the fabric in an attempt to work out the wrinkles, "I forgot to change out of them last night."

"Well we were both really tired," he said, walking over to her to look at himself in the mirror as well, "mine are all wrinkled to."

"Ugh, I should have told Oyaji to bring our bags in here when he offered to," Katara sighed.

"Well I can go get us a change of clothes if you want me to," Aang offered, "you can just wait here if you want."

"Are you sure?" Katara questioned, "You don't have to Aang."

Aang shook his head, "I don't mind. I'll be back in a minute okay?"

"Okay," Katara answered, giving him a quick peck on the lips before he took off towards Appa to get them some new cloths.

While she was waiting, she stripped down to her undergarments and folded her cloths up neatly so it would be a little easier to carry them back to Appa. Once she finished folding them, she sat back on the bad and waited for Aang return.

Katara smiled when she looked down and saw the ring that was on her left hand as she gently ran her right index finger over the small purple gem that the ring held. The small object had distracted her enough that she didn't even notice Aang coming back into the room.

"You know, the only problem I had with getting that is now I need to think of something to get you for your birthday in a month," he told her, grinning at the sight of her still marveling at his gift.

She looked up at the sound of his voice and smiled back at him, "You don't have to get me anything for that Aang."

"Of course I do," he countered, carrying her change of clothes over to her, "it's your birthday."

"Well I am telling you that I don't need anything," she laughed as she took her cloths from him and she laughed even more at what he had brought her.

"What?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"You would pick out the Fire Nation outfit for me," she giggled.

"Well it was the only other travelling outfit you had packed," he said defensively.

"Right," she said, calming down from her giggles as she smirked at him, "just admit that you like it."

Aang looked like he was going to retort back with something but instead he just hung his head and agreed with her, "Okay, so I like it."

"See, now was that so hard," she laughed again slightly as she stood up to put on the clothes.

Aang rolled his eyes at her as he put on his own change of clothes, which were simply just copies of his normal air nomad clothes that he had had made at one of Ba Sing Se's many shops after the war, "Really though, it was the only other outfit you have that is fit for traveling."

"I believe you," Katara shrugged as she walked over to take his hand and began to lead him out of the house and towards Appa after she had gathered their discarded cloths, "I just wanted to hear you admit that you liked it."

"Well, are you happy now," he asked amused as they began to walk through the towns streets, careful to avoid the many people that were walking around as well.

"I think so," she smiled at him before adding, "Aaaangy."

He suddenly dropped his amused look and replaced it with an alarmed expression, "Not you too!"

"What," she smiled innocently, "I let you call me 'Kat' don't I?"

"Well yeah but, you said you liked it," Aang started before pausing for a few moments as he thought about what to say, "Aangy just sounds…"

"It sounds like what?"

"It just makes me sound…childish," Aang finished drearily.

Katara sighed, "I have to agree with you there. I don't even like it."

"Then why did you say it?' he raised an eyebrow at her, pulling her down another street.

She looked away from him and blushed, "You gave me pet name…I think that I should give you one."

"It's not like 'Aang' can be really broken down into anything Kat," he laughed.

"I know, but still," she responded lamely, "It doesn't bother you that you don't have one?"

Aang gave her and odd look, "Of course not."

"Positive?" she gave him a sideways glance as she continued to let him lead her through the town.

"Trust me, it doesn't bother me that I don't have a pet name…really, it doesn't," he assured her, laughing a little, "why would it?"

Katara shrugged again, "I just feel like it shows that I belong to you when you call me 'Kat' and I just wanted you to feel the same."

"I don't need a pet name to feel like I belong to you," he squeezed her hand gently, "I know I belong to you so don't worry about it okay?"

"Well actually you belong to the world," she countered stubbornly.

Aang shook his head, "No, my job is to the world, that doesn't mean I belong to it. I'm yours and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Katara smiled at his words, "Not even the screaming fan girls?"

"Right," he laughed, "not even the screaming fan girls."

She squeezed his hand a little tighter and the couple remained silent for the rest of the walk. Appa finally came into sight a couple of minutes later and Katara saw her brother and Suki lounging around on a nearby bench waiting for them.

"Well it's about time you two got here," Sokka complained when he saw them, "we might as well stay an extra day."

"Oh, stop exaggerating Sokka, it's only a couple hours past noon. Besides, you're the one that allowed them to sleep in" Suki chided and slapped his arm gently before addressing Aang and Katara, "it's good to see you two are doing well."

"We're fine," Katara assured, smiling at Aang, "thanks for the concern though."

"Well lets hurry up and go," Sokka said, "we wasted enough time as it is."

The group nodded as they all climbed up onto Appa's saddle. Once everyone was situated, Aang went up to Appa's head and Katara had just seemed to notice that Suki had also climbed onto Appa.

"I didn't know you were coming with us," she said.

Suki looked at her, "Sokka invited me," she explained.

"Well it's good to have you back," Katara smiled.

"It's good to be back," Suki countered before adding, "Sokka explained the situation to me."

Katara nodded, "Yeah Aang wasn't too happy when we found out about it."

"I don't think anyone would be happy about something like that," Suki said before asking," how'd you and Sokka take it?"

"It bothered me a lot at first and Sokka…"

"Was just surprised by it," the watertribe warrior finished before he leaned over the saddle to address Aang, "hey, is there a reason why we haven't taken off yet?"

The younger boy turned around a little surprised, "Oh, um no there isn't…I guess I just got lost in my thoughts for a bit."

Sokka laughed and looked at the younger boy weirdly, "What could you possibly be thinking about?"

"Do you really want to know," Aang grinned.

Sokka gazed at him for a few moments as he thought about all the possible things that could be going through Aang's mind…especially after he and Katara had just made up, "No I don't."

"Thought so," Aang said before turning back to face forward, "Appa, yip yip!"

Once the bison took to the skies, Aang hoped back up onto the saddle after a few minutes before he slowly made his way over to Katara to sit down next to her. He smiled a little when he saw that she was looking at her ring again.

"What is that?" Sokka asked staring at the small object.

"What's what?" Katara picked her head up to look at her brother.

"That ring," Sokka pointed, scowling.

"Aang gave it to me last night," she told him, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly.

"Oh," Sokka murmured before speaking up as he turned his attention to Aang, "So you bought her back. I see how it is."

Aang's eyes widened at Sokka's accusation, "What! No, I didn't…

"He didn't 'buy me back Sokka," Katara sighed, exasperated, "Aang had a very heartfelt apology to go along with it."

"That's just what he wants you to think," Sokka responded mysteriously with a smirk on his face which led Katara to roll her eyes at her brother.

"It's okay Katara," Suki cut in, "if he bothers you, I could always show everyone the letter he wrote me."

"Please don't," Sokka begged, before crossing his arms and leaning back against the saddle, "I'll shut up."

"Wait, was it that bad?" Aang asked, "he wouldn't let me see it because he was confident that it 'couldn't get any better'," he quoted.

"He probably meant that it couldn't get any worse," Suki laughed, "it would be a good example of how NOT to write a letter."

Sokka sighed, disappointed that the conversation had turned against him, "I can tell already that this is going to be a great trip," he spoke sarcastically, which caused the other three members of the group to laugh.

_At least this is a better start then the one we had when we left the South Pole, _he thought.

* * *

><p>Zuko grunted and held his hand against his chest from the uncomfortable feeling that was brought to him as he sat up in bed. He had been recovering for a few days now and had been bandaged up while he was taken care of at the infirmary after his fight on the airship. He had small bandages over his arms and legs and a bigger one tightly wrapped around his body to hold a few cracked ribs in place. Interestingly enough, Mai seemed to watch over him like a mother turtle-duck. He didn't think she had that motherly side in her but apparently she had always just hidden it very well.<p>

He shook his head roughly to wake himself up and looked around the furnished room that he was in. It was one of the more elegant rooms in King Bumi's Palace that was given to him temporarily after the attack. In fact, all of his surviving soldiers and advisors had been given places to stay, courtesy of King Bumi. Zuko had expressed his gratitude with the old King when he had allowed him to stay in his city until he was healed. In the mean time, Mai had taken up some of his duties as Fire Lord while he recovered but at the moment those duties really only entitled finding out exactly what had happened in Omashu.

No one seemed to know who the attackers were and the only thing they knew about was that they had been in the archives. Strangely enough though, nothing appeared to be missing. The whole ordeal had left the authorities rather confused and that had forced them to step up their security for the time being. Everyone had been scavenging the city for any clues about the attackers and it had been very chaotic.

Things had calmed down a little bit by now, but Zuko knew that anyone coming into the city would have a tough time getting in at the moment. He just hoped that the authorities wouldn't give Aang a hard time when he arrived to help in the investigation.

Zuko sighed as he slowly got off his bed to walk over and lean against the window sill. He could see that there were still soldiers running around all over the place. Deep down, he knew they wouldn't find anything, if there was anything to find it would have turned up by now.

"You know, you shouldn't be getting up."

Zuko turned around at the sound of Mai's voice and smiled at her, "I don't think walking a few feet is going to hurt me all that much."

"Still, get over here and sit back down," she ordered calmly, walking over to the bed and holding up a tray in her hands, "I brought you lunch."

Zuko obliged as he sat back down on the bed and took the tray from her, muttering a quiet 'thank you'.

"So is there any new news so far about what had happened," he asked as he began eating.

Mai shook her head and sat down beside him, "No, they still can't find anything. The military leaders are freaking out, the old politicians are scratching their heads…you're lucky you don't have to deal with it."

"You don't have to either you know," he told her simply.

"Someone has to represent the Fire Nation, seeing as we were the ones that suffered the most damage," Mai shrugged, "and since you are too busy sitting on your butt then I guess it is up to me."

"Hey," he glared at her, "I told you that I could go and take care of it."

"And I told you, not a chance," she countered, "you're not in any condition to do anything right now. You have cuts all over your body, a few cracked ribs, and not to mention that you had some internal bleeding…you're not doing anything until Katara can look over you."

"That is if she is even coming," Zuko said, taking another bite of his meal.

"Why wouldn't she?" Mai asked him.

He shrugged, "Did you tell her to come in the letter you sent Aang?"

"No, but I just figured that she would come anyway," Mai said, a little bored, "you're thinking too much about this."

"Maybe," Zuko said before staying quiet to finish his meal.

Mai waited until he was finished eating before taking the tray from him and set it on the nightstand next to the bed.

"I'm guessing that the search parties haven't found anything either," Zuko asked her as she turned back towards him.

"Nope," Mai answered, "it's like they just disappeared. Some of the generals are starting to think they are having help from some hidden rebellion."

"That's ridiculous," Zuko snorted.

"I don't know Zuko," Mai said speculatively, "I'm inclined to believe them."

"Well they're wrong," Zuko told her simply, crossing his arms and leaning against the back of the bed.

She raised her eyebrow at him, "What makes you so sure that it is not a rebellion?"

"Because if it was a rebellion they wouldn't have come into the city, do nothing, and then leave like these guys did," he explained, "A rebellion would have caused some damage to the city. They would have destroyed the archives, not just walk into them, look around for a bit and leave," Zuko paused in thought for a few moments before speaking again, "whoever these guys are, they are looking for something and whatever it is, they didn't find it here."

Mai gazed at him for a few moments, "I guess that could be possible," she finally said as she noticed that Zuko had begun to scratch at his bandages on his chest, "is that becoming uncomfortable?"

"A little," he admitted.

Mai nodded knowingly, "The doctor said it would as you begin to heal. We just need to change it out with another one."

"Can you do that?" Zuko asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Mai scoffed at him as if she were insulted, "Of course I can. Wrapping bandages is not exactly complicated. Just wait here while I go find some replacements."

"I'm not going anywhere," Zuko told her as she got up and left the room.

Knowing that if would be a few minutes, he shifted himself slowly to lay down on the bed, careful not to make any uncomfortable movements like he had done when he had first got up. He could help but sigh in relief once he was all situated. It took several more minutes for his fiancé to return but eventually he heard her walking into the room and he quickly sat up to see her; which caused him to hiss from the sharp pain that was once again brought to his chest from the motion.

Mai quickly walked over to him, setting the replacement bandage she had gotten down on the bed before placing her hands on his chest, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Zuko breathed out, leaning into her touch slightly, "I just moved a little too quickly, that's all."

Mai gave him a sympathetic look as she removed her hands from his chest and moved around to his back to remove his current bandage.

"How are you goi-," Zuko started to asked before he heard her produce one of her knives and his eyes widened, "W-what are you doing?" he questioned, attempting to turn around to face her but her free hand held him in place.

"Stop being such a baby," she rolled her eyes, beginning to cut the bandage off of him with the knife, being careful not to accidently cut him as well, "This way is just faster than having to undo the knots holding the bandage in place."

"O-okay," Zuko said, as he felt the bandage slip off of him after she had cut all the way through it.

"What, did you think I was going to assassinate you or something?" Mai asked, a little amused while she discarded the old bandage off to the side and putting the knife away.

"No…I just," Zuko sighed, "Never mind."

Though she knew he wouldn't be able to see it since his back was to her, she couldn't help but give him a weird look as she began to wrap his new bandages around him. She gave a gentle nudge on his arms in a silent request for him to raise them and he complied, making it easier for her to maneuver the bandage around him.

Another minute later, she finished the process by tying a small knot to hold the bandage in place, "There, all done," she declared as Zuko turned back towards her.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"Don't mention it," she gave him a quick peck on the lips, "if I hadn't done it you would have been waking me up at night with your scratching."

Zuko rolled his eyes and slowly lay back down on the bed while Mai stayed seated next to him, running her hand up and down his arm gently.

"I still think you're an idiot you know," she told him.

"I know," he looked up at her.

"But you're my idiot," she smiled.

Zuko let out a short laugh and smiled back up at her before pulling her down to lay beside him.

"If you think I am going to sleep now, you're crazy," she told him, feeling his arms around her.

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Zuko grinned, "You keep telling me that I need rest so I'm getting some rest."

"Yeah, well, you better not make me fall asleep," Mai moved a little closer to him, "I still need to check up on some of the search reports later."

"That's later though…this is now," he told her, before pulling her into a sweet kiss.

* * *

><p>"How are we doing?"<p>

Ryu turned around in his seat to see Tau walking into the room before he turned back to the controls of the airship, "Good as ever. We're moving at a snail's pace but there hasn't been anything getting in our way."

"Snail's pace or not, it is what we need to do," Tau said as he pulled up a chair next to Ryu to sit down on.

"I know, it was just an observation" Ryu shrugged before adding, "Sorin went to go get some sleep if you're wondering."

Tau leaned back in his chair and nodded, "I walked into him in the hallway...he still has some concerns about bringing the Avatar into this."

"I couldn't blame him," Ryu responded.

"Don't tell me you agree with him," Tau crossed his arms.

"I don't," Ryu gave him a quick glance, "To tell you the truth, I am looking forward to seeing him again since he is the one that ruined the Dai Li's plans more than once. I am looking for a little payback."

"Did you ever fight him when he went up against the Dai Li," Tau asked curiously, which led Ryu to shack his head.

"No," he said, "for some reason or another, I always seemed to be somewhere else when he and his friends decided to do something, but my friends fought against him so I heard some stories."

"In that case I would think you would be the one concerned about the Avatar, not Sorin," Tau stated.

"Like I said, I am looking for payback more than anything...still though," Ryu turned his head to look at Tau questionably, "You do realize that you are putting us up against the most powerful being in the world right?"

"If everything goes well, we won't have to fight him and that won't matter," Tau countered.

Ryu gazed at him for a few more seconds before turning back to the controls, steering the airship slightly, "You know what you're doing Tau...I respect that."

Tau smiled, "That's good to know," he said before looking out the front window and seeing that the sun was beginning to set, "why don't we find someplace to land for the night, someplace hidden."

Ryu nodded, "No problem."

They stayed silent for the next few minutes as they looked for a good place to set the airship down. Problem was, they were right in the middle of a wide open plain and there were no mountains or hills in sight. Ryu slowed down the airship a little more to allow them to look easier and Tau stood up from his chair and walked over to one of the windows to get a better view of the outside.

"Over there, to the right," he said a few minutes later after spotting a small dip in the Earth's surface.

Ryu turned his head to see what his leader was talking about, "Yeah, I see it," he stated, guiding the airship over to the spot.

Tau watched as the former Dai Li agent guided the airship down into the small indent on the surface and when they landed in it, he quickly realized it wasn't big enough to hide the whole airship. The top of the ship would still be clearly visible to anyone scouting the open plains.

"Ryu follow me," he ordered, waving Ryu over with his hands.

Ryu looked at him and raised an eyebrow but nonetheless standing up to follow his friend out of the control room. The two made their way outside of the airship and they took in their surroundings when they stepped onto the soft grass that surrounded it.

"This little hole isn't big enough to hide the ship completely," Tau said and Ryu began to realize why he had been brought out here.

"You want me to earth bend a canopy over us?" he guessed.

Tau smiled, "You read my mind. It won't hide the airship completely but it should make us a little harder to spot."

Ryu nodded and walked a couple dozen feet from Tau before planting his feet firmly to the ground and making the necessary motions to maneuver the earth, forcing the rim of the hole to expand further inwards. He also angled the earth up a little, leaving a small hole in the center. By the end of it, the formation looked like a small volcano like structure with the airship hidden inside of it.

Tau smiled and nodded at Ryu in approval, "Nice work, adding the incline was a nice touch."

"I thought you'd like it," Ryu smiled back, "I'm surprised you didn't think of it."

"Don't be too smug about it," Tau rolled his eyes, walking back into the airship with Ryu following close behind him.

* * *

><p>"Hey, does anyone know where Katara went off to?" Aang asked, carrying a whole bunch of small tree branches in his hands as he walked back into the campsite that Sokka and Suki were currently setting up.<p>

It had been getting late and upon Sokka's suggestion, they had found a small clearing in a forest to make camp for the night. Despite their late start, they had made good distance with their travelling for the day. They were now at the very southern portions of the Earth Kingdom and Aang suspected that they would be able to reach Omashu in another three days if everything went well.

"I think she went off somewhere in that direction," Suki told him, waving her hand off to her right as she helped Sokka set up one of the tents. Appa was lying down off to the side watching them.

Aang nodded as he set down the branches that the group would be using as firewood in the middle of the camp, "Do you know why?"

Suki shrugged, "She didn't say."

"Would you go find her though?" Sokka asked him as he and Suki moved to set up a second tent after the finished the first one, "It's getting darker and we still need to eat dinner."

"Sure," Aang replied as he started to walk off in the direction that Suki had pointed when Sokka called out to him causing him to stop and turn around.

"Could you light the fire before you go," the older boy requested, "That way I could start cooking dinner."

Aang nodded, walking over to place the sticks and branches he had gotten into a nice pile before lighting the fire, "I'm hoping that you'll have something that is not meat for me right?"

"Of course," Sokka rolled his eyes, tying together two ropes that would hold the tent up, "Katara would kill me if I didn't."

Aang nodded satisfied, and somewhat amused, by the answer as he noticed that two tents were being set up and he couldn't help but ask, "Why two tents?"

"Well, Sokka and I were thinking about using one of them," Suki explained before looking over at Sokka expectantly, "And…"

"And," Sokka continued for her, "We were thinking that…ugh, I am going to beat myself up for saying this later," he groaned, rubbing one of his eyes before forcing the next words out, "We were thinking that…you and Katara…could share…the other tent."

"Really," Aang perked up at the answer. He would never admit it aloud but he had been a little worried that he wouldn't be able to sleep with her while they were travelling, "Great!"

"Just don't talk to me about it," Sokka groaned, "you have Suki to thank for the idea."

"That would be because I'm not paranoid like you," Suki placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"Hey, I'm allowing it," Sokka raised his hands defensively, "doesn't mean I have to like it."

Aang shook his head as the two bickered and began to walk off to find Katara when he heard Sokka call after him, "If you two aren't back in half an hour, I will come and find you!"

Aang decided that he wouldn't even bother yelling back and he made his way further into the woods. Just like what had happened the night before, he felt like he knew exactly where Katara was and he knew now that it was their connection that allowed it. In the back of his mind, he wondered if she could tell where he was too. He followed what his connection was telling him and he eventually found himself coming across another clearing with a small lake partially surrounded by a fifty foot high plateau that had a gentle waterfall running down from it and into the lake. He stepped out of the trees and into the clearing and once Aang got passed the sight he suddenly realized just what Katara might be doing here.

A couple seconds later he heard her voice yell his name in surprise, "Aang!"

He looked towards the direction of her voice and saw her up to her neck in the water with wide eyes as her arms were crossed over her chest. He quickly looked off to his left and saw that her clothes were discarded on the ground at the lakes shore. His eyes widened as he connected the pieces and realized the she was naked.

"Oh, spirits! I'm sorry Katara!" he gasped and turned away from her as he stuttered, "I-I didn't m-mean…I thought…I-I was…I'm sorry," he finished lamely, his face turning into a deep red color.

"I-It's okay Aang, it was an accident," she said, embarrassment and keeping herself afloat while feeling herself becoming a little flustered, "I'm not mad, I promise."

"You're not?" he asked, his back still turned to her.

"No, I'm not," she said gently, but loud enough for him to hear her, "Just wait there for a second okay?"

"Um, okay," he breathed out as he heard her swimming and a few seconds later he heard her getting out of the water. Aang dug his foot into the ground anxiously until he heard her voice again a few moments later.

"Okay, you can turn around now," she told him.

He cautiously did what she said and saw that she was now wearing her undergarments as water was still dripping off of her, her wet hair clinging onto her. He could also tell she was also blushing heavily which made him feel a little better because he knew that she could see that he was blushing as well. He also knew that his blushing would be far more noticeable because he did not share her tanned skin and if her blush was easily noticeable, he could only imagine what he looked like.

"Um…Sokka's making dinner," he said, trying to get over his embarrassment, "he asked me to come and get you."

"Oh," Katara said, suddenly a little disappointed, "you think he could wait for a bit?"

"Why?" Aang asked as he saw her start to slowly walk over to him.

Katara's blush deepened, "I was hoping that we could…spend some time together," she bit her lip and gazed at him anxiously.

Aang gulped, he still hadn't quite recovered from the awkward moment a few moments before, "Is this really the best time?"

"I…I don't know," she said, twirling her hands anxiously as she looked away from him, "I just…never mind."

Aang could feel that she was a little disappointed and he sighed silently, not liking the feeling. He tried to push back his embarrassment from earlier and slowly stepped closer to her causing her to look back at him as he pulled her in for a kiss. Katara sighed contentedly as she felt him take her into his arms and she returned his embrace enthusiastically.

Aang carefully brought them down to sit on their knees as one on his hands ran along the soft skin on the small of her back, causing Katara to shiver and pull him closer when she felt his hand against her bare skin. She cupped the back of his head with her hands and leaned back to pull him on top of her. He quickly rested one of his forearms on the ground, his hand on the side her bare shoulder, to allow him to keep most of his weight off of her as he ran his tongue against her lips.

Her lips parted just enough to allow his tongue entrance and he eagerly took the chance to explore the now familiar area of his soul mate. Since he had ventured into her mouth many times before, he knew exactly which spots to run his tongue across to make her moan. Much to her delight, he did exactly that. She felt his tongue run along her teeth and gums briefly before he focused on the insides of her cheeks as she gave out a small moan of delight in response and held him a little tighter. His free hand ran up and down the sides of her body and he could feel goose bumps forming on her skin as he heard another moan from the back of her throat.

Wanting to feel more of him as her breathing began to quicken from his touch, she maneuvered both of her hands under the back of his shirt to run along the skin there. Aang gave out a soft sigh and pressed himself closer to her as the kiss became more frantic, both of them feeling the passion that was radiating from their spirits.

The couple struggled to breath but at the same time, neither wanted to break lip contact for long. Their lips met briefly over and over as they would pull back a few millimeters to take in a heavy breath before connecting again. Their heads moved quickly over each other and eventually, it became too much for the couple as they were force to break their kiss to take in some much needed air.

Katara's arms stayed around him to hold him on top of her as he rested his head on the crook of her neck, trying to get control of his breathing. They could each feel the other's heart beating frantically while the couple spent the next few minutes calming down. However, Aang wasn't quite done yet. Being an airbender, he was able to get control of his breathing faster and once he was back to normal, he tilted his head slightly to nibble on her earlobe gently and he felt her intake a sharp breath of surprise.

Though she had forgiven him yesterday for trying to leave her behind, Aang hadn't quite forgiven himself and to him, this was a good opportunity to make it up to her even more then he already had. He planted heated kisses along her neck and shoulder, darting his tongue out to run along her skin briefly every now and then as she clutched his back with her hands while drawing out soft moans whenever she would feel his tongue against her. After a few minutes of this, Aang decided to move down a little lower, running his tongue across her collarbone, loving the feel of her smooth skin. He could feel her chest raise and fall quickly against him as he heard her whisper his name passionately and he smiled to himself, proud that he was able to make her feel this way. He looked back up at her after planting a few more kisses against her collarbone and their eyes met, hers seeming a little clouded over from his actions, but he could tell that she wanted him to do a little more.

Aang didn't want to take things to far, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. Keeping eye contact with her, he slowly moved his head down to hover over her bare stomach and she closed her eyes and sighed when she felt his breath against her skin, drawing out more goose bumps. Seeing that she was okay with it, he pressed his lips to her stomach softly before darting his tongue into her bellybutton quickly. She let out a soft whine in response and one of her hands held his head against her, wanting him to continue. He spent the next minute or so stoking the sides of her stomach with his hands while planting a few more kisses there, coaxing more moans from her in between sharp, ragged breaths. Unfortunately for them, it didn't get any farther than that as they suddenly heard Sokka's voice coming from the trees.

"Okay, Aang it's been thirty minutes and now I-WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TWO DOING!" he yelled when he stepped out of the tress and saw them.

Aang quickly used airbending to move himself several feet away from Katara as she quickly sat up. Aang felt the blush that he had earlier returned full force, "I…we…we weren't doing anything."

"Don't even try to tell me that! That looked like something!" Sokka lowered his voice a little, but it was still quite loud.

"Sokka we weren't going to do anything we shouldn't be doing," Katara told him, struggling to control her own breathing. She beat herself mentally when Sokka looked over at her after she spoke.

Sokka didn't even have to look at her very long to tell how flustered she was. Her hair was all over the place, she was breathing heavily, her eyes looked a little unfocused, and he was sure that if he looked closely enough, he would notice some things that he would rather not notice.

He covered his eyes with his hands before he could see any more then he wanted to, "I'm gonna have nightmares, I know it. I won't be able to sleep tonight," he groaned opening his eyes and removing his hands from them to see Aang handing Katara her fire nation cloths that had been lying on the ground, "Okay look," he spoke again, resting his forehead on his hands while trying to keep his voice steady, "dinner's ready, we are heading back right now, and please don't let me see anything like that again."

"Okay, we'll meet you back at camp in a few minutes," Katara breathed out, putting on the last of her cloths.

"No, you're both coming back with me right now," Sokka told her.

"Sokka just would you please go? I promise that we will be only a couple of minutes behind you," Katara pleaded, wanting a few more moments to collect herself before going back to camp and having dinner.

"Fine," Sokka gave in, turning swiftly around to head back to camp "but it better not be any longer than that."

The couple watched him go before they looked at each other, loving smiles forming on their lips.

"That didn't turn out to well," Aang joked, moving a little closer to her.

"You could say that again," Katara laughed breathlessly, "Still…the part before he showed up was great."

He grinned at her, reaching a hand out to brush her hair to make it not look so all over the place. She smiled at him thankfully before she leaned against him, feeling his hand resting on her back to steady her, and tried to calm herself down from her still flustered state. Aang's ministrations caused certain reactions on her body that made it quite clear on what she was feeling at the moment and that feeling also made her a little disoriented. She knew Aang had probably noticed, though thankfully, he was kind enough not to mention it. Sokka on the other hand…she prayed to the spirits that he didn't notice anything.

Aang gave her a few more minutes before taking her hand and lightly tugging on it to let her know they should start to head back. She nodded wordlessly but as he began to walk away, she stopped him and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you," she said, gazing at him meaningfully.

Aang smiled at her, squeezing her hand tightly, "I love you too," he told her gently, before leading them back to the campsite.

* * *

><p>"What's wrong with you?"<p>

Sokka looked at Suki as they laid down a couple of feet away from each other in their tent, "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"You hardly said anything during dinner," Suki explained, "and don't think I didn't notice you glaring at Aang a few times."

Sokka groaned, lying down on his back, "I just caught them doing something that I would really prefer not to see them doing."

Suki gazed at him, propping her head on her elbow, "Wait, they weren't…"

"No," Sokka quickly interrupted, knowing what she was going to say, "but they didn't seem too far off from that."

She was silent for a few moments as she collected her thoughts, "Sokka?"

"Hmm," he hummed, looking over at his girlfriend.

"I know you are just looking out for your sister but you do realize that she is considered an adult now right?" Suki asked.

"Of course," Sokka groaned again, knowing where Suki was going with the conversation, "her sixteenth birthday was almost a year ago…her next birthday in coming up in another month or so."

Suki smiled and nodded, "Don't you think she knows how to handle herself by now then? She wouldn't let Aang do anything that she didn't want him to."

"I know that," Sokka said, propping his head up to mirror her position, "and that is what worries me."

"If she decides she wants more in their relationship then that is her choice now," Suki said sternly, "Don't get yourself worked up about something that you won't be able to control. You know Aang would never hurt your sister."

"I know," Sokka agreed a little reluctantly before raising his eyebrow at her, "who made you the relationship expert?"

"I'm just stating the obvious," Suki said simply, "besides…it's not like you and I haven't done some of those things before."

"Actually," Sokka corrected, "we have never really gotten as far as they did."

"Oh," Suki looked away from him. With all of the things that had taken place after the war, they didn't really have that much time to do much more with their relationship then they had already been doing during the war. It had kind of reached a standstill with how far they would go with each other, "Well, good for them then," she deadpanned.

"Well you know we could always change that," Sokka grinned at her, leaning forward to kiss her gently but after a few moments, Suki pulled back.

"I'm a little tired Sokka," she said unconvincingly, biting her lip, "maybe some other time."

"Oh…okay," he frowned as she turned away from him to lie down, "Goodnight," he said, laying down beside her.

"Goodnight," she said back.

Sokka was up for the next several minutes though. He was happy that Suki was back but it was all too clear that they still had a lot to work on with their relationship. He knew that she wasn't really all that tired yet; she just didn't desire what he did. It was obvious to him that he wanted a little more from their relationship but he knew that maybe he was taking things a little too fast. They had just been reunited again and maybe he should take things a little slower. So what if they had never said 'I love you' to each other or if they were not as close as the younger couple that was travelling with them: she was here again with him now and he was thankful for that.

With little effort, he pushed the more negative thoughts from his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Katara found herself back in the streets of the Earth Kingdom town she had found herself in weeks ago. It still had the same eerie feel to it and she looked around nervously, remembering the pain that something had caused her the last time. She was alone though, the sky was clouded over, looking like it was going to rain, and a gentle wind blew against her as she began to walk through the town, looking for any signs of life.<em>

_Suddenly a high pitched screeching noise filled the air and Katara covered her ears to drown out the sound. It unnerved her and she felt a tingle run down her spine as the screeching only became louder. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and when she opened them back up, her heart nearly stopped at what she saw._

_There it was again, the black, ghostly, red eyed figure that she suddenly began to remember seeing before. Thoughts flashed through her mind as she remembered the pain it had caused her and her breathing picked up to an unsteady pace as she realized there wasn't just one of them now. There were dozens of them, all perched up on the rooftops of the buildings surrounding her, their red eyes gazing hauntingly at her._

_Katara looked around, studying the dark figures looking down at her. She could make out that the creatures seemed to be holding themselves up on many thick tentacles that were barely visible through the ghostly haze that surrounded them. And for the first time, she also noticed that they weren't much bigger then her, probably only exceeding her height by a foot or two._

_All of her thoughts vanished though as one of them seemed to slither down the rooftops on its tentacles before it landed a few feet in front of her, causing her to take several terrified steps back. The creature let out a small hiss as it stared at her, tilting its head in curiosity but then to her surprise it suddenly shot itself up into the sky, seemingly floating in the air as it left a black cloud in its wake._

_Katara stood there, frozen, for several minutes as the cloud cleared and her heart leaped in relief at what was revealed behind it. She saw her brother, standing with his back to her far down the street._

_"Sokka!" she called out, making her way over to him while trying to ignore the dozens of dark figures still perched on the rooftops with their blood red eyes following her every move._

_She called out her brother's name again as she got a little closer and she saw the he was holding his machete at his side. A sinking feeling filled her gut as she stepped only a few feet away from him and he still did not move. He was as still as a statue._

_"Sokka is something wrong," she asked, worriedly reaching her hand out to him. The creatures around her began to produce uneven rumbling sounds as if they were laughing at her._

_"Sokka?" she placed her hand on his shoulder and turned him around to force him to look at her._

_She did not expect what she was met with though and Katara cried out as Sokka's eyes flashed red while he let out an ear piercing screech as his machete swung up towards her head…_

The pain that followed sent Katara shooting up and throwing the blanket off her as she screamed, waking up her boyfriend that was sleeping beside her.

"Kat?" he asked tiredly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder when he felt her terrified feelings as she looked frantically around the tent they were sharing, "Kat, are you okay?"

Her eyes seemed to stop on him and she instantly seemed calm down, her breathing beginning to slow back down to a normal pace.

"I…" she looked down, not knowing what to say, "I don't…"

Aang took her chin in his hand to force her head back up before cupping her cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb to wipe away a few tears, "Shh, it was just a nightmare, you're alright."

Katara nodded and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths, "Remember a few weeks ago and I had that nightmare?"

Aang nodded, his eyes widening a little as he realized what she had been dreaming about tonight.

"I had it again," she whispered, confirming his suspicions, "Except it was worse. There were more of those creatures this time, dozens of them, and I was so scared."

She was quickly pulled into a comforting embrace as she was placed on his lap. Sobbing softly, she curled up against him, feeling his head resting on top of hers.

"It's okay," he said soothingly as he rubbed her back, trying desperately to comfort her, "Nothing's going to happen to you."

"That's wasn't even the worse part," she sobbed, "Sokka was there but he…he attacked me. He didn't seem like himself."

"Katara…it was just a nightmare," Aang told her, not really knowing what to say to that, "It's not real…you know Sokka wouldn't do that."

Katara closed her eyes and leaned further against him, "Can you just…hold me like this for a few minutes," she requested softly.

"Of course," he replied, kissing the top of her head.

Over the next several minutes the couple remained quite. Aang rocked Katara back and forth gently while he continued to rub her back and she seemed content with just sitting there in his embrace. Aang took the silence as a chance to think things over.

Roku had told him not to worry about the nightmare that Katara had had unless it repeated itself which judging by what she had just told him, it did. Aang was still unsure what to think of it though. Does that mean that it is in fact a vision or is it just coincidence that it repeated itself? Dreams sometimes would repeat, he had had it happen to him a few times so he wasn't completely willing to call Katara's nightmares visions just yet. He felt like he should wait and see if more occurred before making that judgment. This newer nightmare though seemed to be clearer, more violent, and that was how visions usually played out so he knew he couldn't rule out the possibility no matter how much he wanted to think they were just nightmares. Despite his confusion on what to do about it he knew for sure that Katara had a right to know everything that he did.

"Kat?" he questioned, seeing if she was ready to talk.

"Yes?" she responded, pulling back to look at him curiously but keeping herself close enough so his arms could stay around her.

"These nightmares…they may be a bit more than that," he told her, gazing at her sympathetically.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Roku told me they may be visions," he explained, "I didn't tell you before because I truly believed that they didn't mean anything after Roku assured me that everything was alright but now…"

"Now you think there is a chance that they're alluding to something," Katara finished for him.

"Maybe," Aang replied, looking away from her in thought, "Roku said that if the nightmares repeated then it could be a sign that they are visions but this nightmare of yours has only repeated once now and dreams can do that to…I think if they are visions then you are going to have more of them. I just want to warn you," he looked back at her to see her reaction.

Katara bit her lip as she took this in, "But…but how can I have a vision. I thought that was Avatar stuff?"

"Usually it is but…"

"Our connection allows me to have them as well right?" she interrupted him.

Aang nodded and looked at her sadly, "I'm sorry Katara…you didn't ask for any of this. If I wasn't the Avatar then you…"

Katara cut him off with a quick kiss, "Hey, don't blame yourself for my nightmares. You and our bond are more than enough to make up for them and I wouldn't want things any other way."

"I just wish you wouldn't have to deal with it," Aang argued.

"Don't," Katara told him, "just because you are the Avatar doesn't mean you have to bear everything yourself. Let me handle this and I will let you know if I have the nightmare again okay?"

Aang gazed at her silently for a few moments before nodding, "Okay," he gave in.

Katara smiled at him and took his head in her hands before kissing him passionately. Aang returned it for several seconds before pulling back, "Katara it's late," he said.

"So? We're wide awake now and it's not like we have anything else better to do," she traced her hands over the arrows on his arms, smiling to herself when she felt him shiver a little.

Aang considered what she had said. They really didn't have anything else to do and he knew there would be no way he would be able to go back to sleep now. Besides, did he really have it in him to resist her? His mind told him no, so instead of fighting it, he gave into it and leaned forward to capture her lips in another kiss.

She smiled against his lips as she quickly pushed him to lie down, positioning herself to straddle his waist.

"Katara," he groaned, a little surprised at how swiftly she had acted.

"What? You had your fun with me earlier," she grinned down at him seductively, "Now it's my turn."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so this chapter, if you hadn't noticed, was really long. That is because it was really meant to be two chapters but as you can also see, it is mostly filler, just simply going from point A to point B. I thought, "why do we need two filler traveling chapters." The answer to that is, we don't...so I combined them.<strong>

**Anyways, expect another week before the next update but after that I should, probably, be able to update a little more often. I like having some buffer chapters before I start posting like a wild maniac**. **I have chapters 13 and 14 all written and by the time I post 13 I should be able to get at least up to chapter 16 done...and I will post a little more often then.:)**

**To all the reviewers, you guys are great. I try to respond to reviews that seem like they need a response to. If I didn't reply to you and you want me to, for whatever reason...just tell me.**:)


	13. Arrivals

**Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? I still don't own Avatar and I never will**.

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><p>"Okay, I think that's it," Sokka said happily, putting the last of the group's belongings on Appa, "We're ready to go."<p>

"It looks like that to me," Aang agreed, sitting atop on Appa's head, "just make sure we have everything and we will go ahead and leave."

His other three companions looked over the things packed on the side of the saddle and after a few moments they all gave Aang the go ahead. Appa swiftly took off and the group found themselves soaring through the clouds moments later.

Aang stayed on Appa's head for the next couple of minutes, making sure they were going the right direction, before climbing up on the saddle and taking a seat next to Katara, who smiled upon seeing him. Remembering what Sokka had caught them doing yesterday and not wanting to irritate the boy further at the moment, Aang sat just close enough to Katara so that their sides were barely touching. He could sense that she was a little disappointed that he wasn't a little closer but she seemed to understand his reasoning.

"Okay, now that Aang is back up here," Sokka said, sitting across from the couple and next to Suki, "I think now might be a good time to discuss what exactly we are going to do once we reach Omashu."

"We're going to help Bumi and Zuko investigate what happened or anything else that they need help with," Katara said simply as if the answer was obvious, "what is there to talk about?"

"Well we need to figure out how we are going to handle it," Sokka explained, "yeah, we know that we are going to be helping with the investigation, but are we going to actually go and fly out to look for the attackers after we learn more about what happened or are we going to stay in Omashu for a while and help out in the city?"

"We should probably just stay in the city," Aang spoke up, causing the rest of the group to look at him as they waited for him to elaborate, "It would just make more sense that way," he continued, "I don't see why we would leave the city unless we were sure on where the attackers went off to. I would think Omashu would have sent out some search parties right?"

"Right," Suki nodded, having knowledge on how things like this would work since she was the former leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, "They would have sent out search parties as quickly as possible, maybe only hours after the attack."

"It's been almost a week since then too," Sokka continued, "the rest of the Earth kingdom has probably been informed by now and they have sent out their own search parties. Ba Sing Se specifically."

"That would be a good thing to assume," Suki nodded approvingly at him.

"So it would be rather pointless for us to just leave Omashu and search as soon as possible," Katara surmised, "Four more people wouldn't make much of a difference."

"Exactly," Aang smiled at her before addressing the rest of the group, "We would be more use staying with Zuko and helping him instead of joining the search party."

"So it would probably be safe to say that we will be there for at least a week or two," Sokka stated, relaxing against the side of the saddle.

"Probably," Aang agreed.

"But what if we aren't able to find any clues on where the attackers went?" Katara asked, speaking out what the whole group had been thinking deep down and they we all quiet for several moments.

"We'll just have to go along with what happens," Suki stated at last, "we will find out more when we get there."

The group nodded in agreement and remained silent in thought. Sokka eventually turned to Suki to talk to her about something and Katara took her brothers occupation as an opportunity to move a little closer to Aang. Her head fell down onto his shoulder and he smiled as his head turned to see her snuggling a little closer, coaxing him to wrap his arms around her waist. They remained silent, simply enjoying the peaceful moment as they heard Sokka and Suki's whispers across the saddle.

The next several days played out in a similar fashion. They would find a clearing to make camp at during the night and fly as far as they could during the day. It took a day or two longer then Aang thought it would to reach Omashu but he suspected that it was because his bison was getting a little tired from all the flying. Appa would have his rest soon though because on the fifth day of their travels, Omashu came into sight.

"Finally" Sokka sighed with relief, looking over the front of the saddle, "it's about time."

"Would you stop complaining," Katara asked annoyed, "Really, does it ever end with you?"

Sokka turned out to glance at his sister and shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a very vocal person."

Katara just rolled her eyes before turning to look out over the saddle as well.

"It's strange," Suki said curiously, looking over the saddle with them, "It doesn't look damaged."

"They probably cleaned up most of the damages by now," Aang stated fromm Appa's head.

"It's not completely cleaned up, look," Katara said pointing down towards the bottom of the small mountain that Omashu was on top of.

Aang turned and look up at her to see where she was pointing before he followed her finger, as did Sokka and Suki. Sure enough, the wreckage of the two airships that Mai had said were destroyed was clearly visible hundreds of feet below them. Pieces of the ships were everywhere and Aang knew that they would not be able to be repaired.

"Man, I wonder how that happened," Sokka gazed at the site, shaking his head in amazement.

"I don't know," Aang said, looking away from the scene to guide Appa towards Omashu's palace, "But we are about to find out."

* * *

><p>Zuko grunted as Mai helped him put on his robes in their bedroom. Someone had spotted the Avatar's bison in the sky and when Zuko heard word of it, he felt that he should be there to greet his friends when they arrived. Mai had been a little apprehensive of that, believing that he should just relax since he was still hurt. But with a little coaxing, he had been able to convince her to allow him to welcome Aang and the rest of his friends. She still however, insisted that she guide him out there just in case his injuries gave him trouble.<p>

"Okay, if you really feel like you need to do this, let's go then," Mai told him, once he was all dressed.

"I'm just walking outside Mai," Zuko said, walking forward slowly, stumbling a little, "I'll be fine."

Mai quickly went to his side to help support him as they made their way through the halls of King Bumi's Palace, "I'll believe that once you are able to walk straight," she retorted.

"You try walking when your legs are filled with cuts and bandages," Zuko shot back.

"My point exactly," Mai sighed as they finally walked outside to see Appa descending down to them.

Looking around, Zuko could see that there were dozens of other palace officials gathered around to welcome the Avatar. King Bumi was one of them, not standing too far away from Zuko, who slowly made his way over to the old King with Mai's help.

"Fire Lord Zuko," Bumi smiled when Zuko stood beside him, "I didn't expect you to be out here."

"I probably shouldn't be," Zuko sighed, leaning against Mai for more support, "I feel a little exhausted by just walking here."

"Well I am sure they will be happy to see you," Bumi looked him up and down, "At least the robes cover up most of the wounds. You could look worse."

Zuko just smiled and snorted a little as he shook his head, gazing back up at the bison that would be landing in front of them within the next minute. Bumi's words did relieve him a little though. He had been slightly worried that his wounds would be too noticeable but looking down at himself, he saw that the robe did in fact cover up the majority of the bandages. If it wasn't for him leaning against Mai for support, he probably wouldn't look hurt at all.

He was taken out of his thoughts when Mai gave him a gentle nudge and he looked back out to see that Appa had landed and Aang as well as the rest of the gang were dismounting him, giving polite waves to the crowd around them. Zuko smiled, happy to see his friends again as he, Mai, and Bumi walked over to the group to greet them personally.

"Zuko! Bumi!" Aang exclaimed upon seeing him, running up to give his friends a quick hug.

"It's good to see you again Aang," Zuko smiled as the rest of the group walked up to them after paying some attention to the crowd.

"Wow Zuko," Katara said, standing beside Aang, "I was expecting you to look a lot worse."

"It's good to see you to," Zuko rolled his eyes, "The robes just make me look better. It's probably as bad as you think it is, trust me."

"He can hardly walk as it is now," Mai explained, "You should have seen him a few days ago."

"And a Waterbender did that to you?" Sokka asked, speaking up for the first time.

"Yeah," Zuko nodded, grimacing a little at the memory of being tossed around the airship, "Who knew that waterbending could be that...intimidating."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Katara crossed her arms and gazed at Zuko sternly while Aang glanced at her, amused of how defensive she was about her element.

"Nothing, nothing," Zuko responded, holding his hands up in front of him defensively, "I just meant that when you talk about someone having cracked ribs and internal bleeding, waterbending isn't one of the things that would come to mind."

"Cracked ribs?" Suki gasped, a little surprised.

"And internal bleeding?" Aang added, looking at his older friend sympathetically.

"I'm fine now but at the time," Zuko paused, remembering the pain that he felt during the fight, "It was just too much."

"That just doesn't seem right," Katara said, speaking up again after contemplating what the rest of the group was talking about, "A waterbender would need an enormous amount of water to create a force that strong to do that. Whoever this guy was, he wouldn't be able to do that unless there was a big source of water around him."

"Well he was able to do it, trust me," Zuko looked at her.

"We can talk more about this later," Mai interjected before turning to Katara as well, "We were hoping you would be able to heal him as much as you can."

"Of course," Katara nodded.

"I'll answer anything you want me to while you are doing that," Zuko assured.

"I should probably come with you guys to then," Aang said, causing the group to look at him before he finished, "I just feel I should know what is going on that's all."

Everyone seemed satisfied, nodding in understanding except for Katara, who gazed at her boyfriend speculatively. She was getting something different from their connection, something she hadn't felt before. Jealousy? Aang met her eyes and upon seeing her staring at him, he looked away blushing after realizing that she understood his real reason for wanting to come with her when she healed Zuko. She giggled silently to herself, a little amused that Aang would actually feel jealous when it came to her. Didn't he know by now that he was the only guy for her, especially with their shared bond? She couldn't help but find the situation rather cute and she grasped his hand gently to reassure him, trying to tell him silently that he didn't need to feel jealous. He simply shrugged, blushing a little more and grasping her hand tighter as he looked back to the rest of the group who had began a new conversation, oblivious of the silent exchange between the young couple.

"Well we can all play catch up later at dinner," Bumi cut in, "In the mean time, I will show you all to your rooms. We already have four prepared for you."

"Actually Bumi," Aang said quickly, drawing all eyes toward him, "Katara and I sleep together now, so if it's alright…"

"You two can share a room then Aang," Bumi assured, knowing what his longtime friend was going to ask, but he could help but look at him surprised, "Though I have to say that for some reason I thought you two would wait until you are married until you took things that far."

Aang and Katara instantly reddened as the both realized what the old king was implying.

"What! No…we, we n-never," Aang stuttered, embarrassed and knowing full well that Sokka was glaring at him, "We have never done…I mean we've done stuff but not…I didn't mean sleep together in that way!"

"What Aang is trying to say is that we haven't gone that far," Katara cut in, not wanting Aang to embarrass them any further, though secretly wishing that there was some truth to what Bumi had said, "We just share a bed."

"Ugh, let's just all stop now," Sokka waved his hands in a silencing motion, "I don't want to hear anymore."

"Okay, just go get yourselves situated in your rooms," Mai said, trying to draw them away from the topic and turning to the embarrassed couple that were both looking at the rocky ground, "Aang. Katara. Feel free to come by and heal Zuko whenever you can."

Katara nodded, "We'll be there once we unpack our things."

"The guards can help with that," Bumi said, waving a few of his men over to him, "Would you please gather the Avatar and his friend's belongings and show them to their rooms."

The guards bowed quickly before doing what their King asked. Once all of the guards had gathered their bags, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Suki followed them into the palace as Zuko and Mai returned to their own room.

* * *

><p>"Oh wow, and a Waterbender did this to you?"<p>

Zuko, who was wearing only his underwear, looked up from his spot on his bed at the shocked Waterbender standing in front of him, "For the last time, yes," he said a little annoyed.

Katara gazed over the many the many cuts and bruises that were revealed on Zuko after she had removed his bandages. Since it was a little over a week after the attack, many of the smaller cuts had mostly healed themselves, but Katara grimaced as she imagine what they must of looked like at the time. She looked over to her right to see Aang setting a pot of water on the nightstand next to her, before leaning with his back against the wall.

"You are going to be able to heal all of this right," Mai asked Katara, sitting on the bed a couple feet away from Zuko.

"All of the cuts and bruises…yes," she answered, bending some water out of the pot and into her hands, "I can't do anything about the cracked ribs though. Those have to heal on their own."

"Just do what you can, anything would be appreciated," Zuko told her, watching as the water in her hands glowed a bright blue as she knelt down in front of him and started the healing process.

"So tell me about this Waterbender," Katara requested.

"I can't really tell you all that much," Zuko admitted, "He had blue eyes, he was older than me, stronger, and he was able to bend an unusually large amount of water from the air."

"How much water are you talking about," Katara asked, moving up a little to heal the cuts on his arms.

"It was like he had a big lake around him," Zuko said, "I'm not talking little streams of water he was bending at me. I am talking about waves of water, and he was able to put a lot of force behind it. One of the blasts was strong enough to knock a metal door off its hinges."

"I didn't think any Waterbender could bend that much water from the air," Aang said surprised, not leaving his spot on the wall.

"It is a little weird," Katara agreed, moving around to sit on the bed behind Zuko so she could heal his back, "Are you sure he didn't just have some hidden stashes of water in the room."

"I'm sure," Zuko replied confidently, "They were just stealing the airship at the time I saw him. He wouldn't have had enough time to set up like that."

"What do you think of it Katara?" Mai asked a little curiously, "Is it possible for a Waterbender to do all of that or do you think there is something that we're missing?"

"Well, I have gotten pretty good at pulling a good amount of water from the air…enough that I don't need the pouch anymore," Katara started, "but I have never heard of someone pulling _waves_ of water out of the air. However, theoretically, it should be possible but it would be a very advanced water bending technique. I've never heard of something like that before."

"Maybe, he is just a strong bender," Aang surmised, "Maybe he had a lot of practice."

"Maybe," Katara narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Can you get that much water from the air?" Mai asked her.

"Not yet but maybe with a little practice…" Katara answered a little thoughtfully. She did wonder if she had that level of power in her and she made a mental note to practice it in her free time, maybe even teach Aang how to pull water from the air to. It was not something he needed to know how to do since he had the other elements in place of it. But if she was going to try to teach herself this advanced technique that this mysterious man showed off to Zuko, then she might as well bring Aang along. She was sure he would love to, she promised herself that she would ask him Later.

"So how many of these guys were there," Aang asked, looking at Zuko for an answer.

"We don't know yet," Zuko shook his head as he felt Katara's healing stop and he saw water being bent back into the pot on the nightstand, "there are at least two of them but everyone is suspecting that there were more."

"So you really don't know anything about these guys?" Aang raised his eyebrows.

"That is why you're here," Mai said, "We need your help to find out. You should probably expect to be in the city for a while; Zuko and I were thinking that it would be wasteful to just send you guys out to join the search party."

"That's what we were thinking too," Aang nodded understandingly.

"Okay well, your all healed now Zuko," Katara cut in, getting up to stand back in front of him, "How do you feel?"

Zuko stood up, noticeably easier than he did before and stretched his arms and legs out. He felt as slight pain from his still cracked ribs but everything else was fine, "Better," he answered, "much better. Thanks Katara."

"Don't mention it," Katara waved her hands nonchalantly, "that's what friends are for."

Aang stood up straight pushing himself off the wall and yawning, "Well it's getting late and we have a long day tomorrow. I think it's time for use all to get a little rest."

Katara nodded in agreement and took his hand to lead him out the room as they exchanged goodnights with Zuko and Mai. The young couple walked through the hallways of the palace before finally reaching their room and Katara closed the door behind him as Aang began to undress down to his underwear.

"So what was that all about earlier?" she asked, pulling at the sash of her robe as it fell to rest around her feet.

"What are you talking about," Aang asked back, walking over to the bed to pull the covers back before climbing in.

"I could have sworn I sensed some jealousy coming from you earlier," Katara explained, pulling down her pants, leaving her only in her undergarments.

"Oh that," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he sat up against the back of the bed, "I just you know…"

Katara climbed on top of the bed to sit beside him, shoulders touching, "No I don't know."

"I just can't help but get a little jealous of you and Zuko sometimes," Aang looked away from her, a blush rising to his cheeks, "Especially ever since that play."

Katara didn't need him to elaborate. She knew what play he was talking about and if there was one thing she regretted in her life, it was what she had done during it, "Aang, that was two years ago."

"I know but…" Aang shrugged and sighed, "never mind. I'm just being silly that's all."

"Aang," she said soothingly, reaching a hand op to cup his cheek, turning his head to look at her, "You don't ever have to be jealous of me okay. I know that play isn't the best memory but it's in the past. What matters is what is happening now. I love you, Aang and nothing will ever change that."

Aang smiled, feeling his spirit at ease from her words as he turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand, "I love you to."

"Promise me that you won't get jealous like that again," Katara pleaded, "I know it's not that big of a deal, but I don't like it when you doubt my feelings for you like that. You're the only one for me okay?"

Aang looked into her gentle blue eyes, seeing the love and adoration she held for him, "Okay, I promise."

Satisfied, Katara shifted to lie down on the bed and pulled him down next to her, their foreheads resting against each other.

They remained silent, neither wanting to break the comforting peace that rose between them, each enjoying the soft sounds of the others breathing. Their arms wrapped around each other in a loving but gentle embrace, and they could each feel their own spirits mingle with each other's, allowing them to feel all the emotions they held.

Overcome by what he was feeling, Aang couldn't help but lean in to kiss her soft lips and Katara quickly responded, moving her lips passionately against his, holding him a little tighter.

They continued their kiss and it wouldn't be until several minutes later that the couple would finally find some sleep.

* * *

><p>Tau looked out the control room window at the darkness that surrounded the airship. In the distance, the wall of Ba Sing Se was barely visible in the night's dim moonlight. Sorin had landed the airship in a crevice in the middle of a large rocky formation they had found and for the past few hours the group had been laying low, figuring out what to do next. They had reached Ba Sing Se, now the problem was getting in.<p>

"We can't just walk in like we did at Omashu," Ryu stated leaning against one of the control panels with his arms crossed, "Ba Sing Se is more secure than that. We need passports to get in."

"And we don't have any passports for Ba Sing Se," Sorin said, from his chair.

"Not to mention that even then the security might still want to check us over since they have likely learned about Omashu by now. I don't think they are letting many people into the city at the moment," Ryu finished.

"I know, you don't have to tell me," Tau turned around from the window to look at his two companions, "I'm aware of the situation and I am working on a solution."

"What are you thinking about doing?" Sorin asked, looking at Tau curiously.

"As you said, we can't just walk in," Tau started, still going over the plan he was thinking up in his head, "we're going to have to do something a little more creative than that."

"And that entitles…what exactly," Ryu motioned his hands for Tau to elaborate.

The Waterbender ignored him for a few moments though, finalizing the plan in his mind before speaking up, "Okay, here is what we are going to do…"

* * *

><p><strong>This is another one of those chapters that I feel like I struggled with a tiny bit. Thankfully, the next several chapters were really easy to write. I have up to chapter 17 all done so until I say otherwise, I am going to be updating twice a week. Update days will be every Monday and Thursday. Sound Good?<strong>

**And don't forget to review!;)**


	14. Investigating & Infiltrating

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

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><p>"Okay let's go," Sokka said once he was finished eating breakfast the next morning.<p>

Suki rolled her eyes, sitting next to him at the dining table of the Earth King's palace, "Wait for the rest of us Sokka..."

Sokka looked around the table, seeing that everyone was still eating with Aang, Katara, and Mai across from him. Zuko was sitting to Mai's left at King Bumi's usual seat. However, since Bumi wasn't with them at the moment because he was being caught up on search reports from some of his advisors, Zuko decided that he would take the lead seat.

"Well hurry it up," Sokka said, "we don't have all day."

"Actually we do," Katara spoke up from across the table, "it's not like we have anything else to do except to look around the city."

"It'd probably be best if we just looked at the archives," Aang said, putting his fork down once he was finished eating.

"Why would you think that?" Suki said.

"Because that was where these guys went to," Sokka said before Aang could answer, knowing what the young Avatar was thinking.

"Right," Aang nodded, "Bumi has soldiers all over the city, and the archives aren't being looked at as much."

"You would think that would be the first place they would look," Katara murmured, tilting her head at him.

"Actually that is where they started," Zuko said, causing Katara to look at him in surprise since she didn't think he would hear her, "Nobody found anything, everything seemed untouched, so they just stopped the investigations there. Besides, after the break in, the politicians were a little uneasy about people being inside of the archives."

"We aren't going to have any trouble getting into them are we?" Sokka asked.

"No," Zuko shook his head, "They should let you guys go on through, after all, you guys are with the Avatar," he smiled at Aang a little.

"Let's just hope we can find something," Aang said, looking over at Katara to see that she was done eating.

"I'll be going with you," Mai said, speaking up for the first time, "I can help answer any question you guys may have since I was there during the attack."

"That'd be nice," Katara smiled at the older girl before looking at Zuko, "Are you coming too?"

Zuko sighed, "I wish I could but I am having a meeting with Bumi in an hour about what the next steps are going to be if we aren't able to find anything in the investigations, which at this point, I don't think we will. We can't let these guys get away though so we're not just going to give up."

"Well hopefully we will be able to find something in the archives," Suki said, pushing away her plate, "speaking of which, I'm ready to go when you guys are."

"Well lets go then," Aang said as he stood up and grabbed Katara's hand to lead her out of the room before he stopped and turned back around to look at Zuko, "Um, where are the archives?"

"That's what you have me for," Mai gave him a small smile as she stood up, "follow me."

Aang and Katara let Mai walk in front of them as the she led them out of the room with Sokka and Suki not far behind them. They walked out of the palace and through the winding streets of Omashu for several minutes before they finally saw the entrance and a pair of guards quickly stood up to meet them.

"You wish to enter the archives?" one of the guards asked.

"To help in the investigation," Mai responded, and pointed and Aang, "The Avatar's with me."

Aang gave a small wave as the guards looked at him and bowed in respect.

"The Avatar is always welcome in," the guard said again, "though by orders of King Bumi, all persons entering the archives must be with an escort for the time being. My apologies if that is inconvenient for you."

"You're just doing your job," Aang smiled, "its fine."

The first guard nodded, and motioned the other guard to lead the group into the archives.

"Follow me please," the second guard said as the group began to fall in line behind him. They walked through the long entrance room but eventually they reached the main section of the archives and the group, minus Mai since she had already seen it before, gasped at what they saw. The only thing they had seen compared to this was Wan Shi Tong's library.

Aang felt Katara squeeze his hand and he felt a sense of wonder coming from her. He could understand her amazement. This was all manmade, it wasn't spiritual like the massive library in the desert, and there were at least thousands of books.

"It's amazing isn't it," their escort said, standing in the middle of the group that had spread out in the open space in the middle of the massive room, "This is the culmination of thousands of years of our cities history."

"It is pretty impressive," Sokka agreed, before looking at the floor, "but that kind of ruins it though."

"What does," Suki said, walking over to him to see what he was looking at, "Oh."

Aang and Katara looked a few feet away from them and saw that the older couple was looking at a dark stain on the floor. Katara recognized what it was instantly…blood.

"The soldiers tried to clean up what they could," Mai spoke up, moving to stand over the blood stain, "But there are few stains here and there from a small skirmish that took place."

"I thought you and Zuko said nothing happened in the archives," Aang said quietly, looking away from the stain on the ground. He didn't like thinking of it.

"We said nothing was moved or stolen," Mai corrected, "There was a small fight though when a few guards realized that someone had broken in to the archives. One of the guards left to warn the authorities to sound alarms but the other three men…it didn't end well for them."

"Was it the Waterbender that…killed them?" Katara asked while squeezing Aang's hand tightly in comfort for she knew that death wasn't something he liked to talk about.

"We don't know," Mai shrugged, "It could have been the Earthbender, or someone else."

"Earthbender?" Suki raised her eyebrows.

Mia looked at the former Kyoshi Warrior, "There was an earthbender as well…I guess Zuko and I forgot to mention that."

"How did you know there was an earthbender too?' Sokka asked.

"That was how our airships were destroyed," Mai explained, "they were all landed on a platform that was bended out from the wall and then we saw this guy on the catwalk of the airship that ended up being stolen. He knelt down and placed his hand on the platform and next thing we knew, the whole thing shattered and the two unoccupied airships fell down the mountainside."

"We were wondering how that happened," Katara said.

"It doesn't matter now," Aang shook his head, speaking up again, "let's just start to look around and see what we can find."

"We should probably split up as well," Sokka stated, "it'll be quicker that way."

The rest of the group nodded and they all split up to go to separate areas of the archives. Mai and the guard that escorted them in stayed on the first floor, Sokka and Suki went to look on the second floor, and Aang and Katara went to the third floor.

"Think we'll find anything?" Aang asked hopefully once they reached the top floor.

"You want the honest answer?" Katara asked back, looking around as she and Aang walked through the aisles of books. He nodded.

"If there was something to find, I think it would have been found by now," Katara told him, "I hate to be a downer but I don't think there is anything left for use to find out."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Aang said in a low voice.

The couple walked around for the next several minutes, curiously glances at some of the books on the shelves, before they came across a bunch of empty shelves in the far corner.

"I wonder why those are empty," Aang wondered aloud.

"Whatever books that were there were moved obviously," Katara said simply.

Aang gave her an exasperated look, "I mean where where they moved to though?"

Katara shrugged, "I don't know…"

"Those documents were moved years ago."

The couple turned to see Mai walking up to them.

"I figured I would just come and check to see what everyone was doing," Mai told them before looking at the shelves again, "Anyways, whatever was on those shelves are long gone. Like I said, Bumi told me and Zuko that they were moved a long time ago…to Ba Sing Se, I think."

Katara gazed at the shelves thoughtfully, "Do you think that is where these guys are heading next? I mean, if they didn't take anything from here then they obviously didn't find what they were looking for."

"It was a possibility that we thought about at first," Mai crossed her arms as she elaborated, " but then King Bumi's advisors, as well as Zuko's, all agreed that there would be no way that these guys would know where the documents were moved to. We sent a message to Ba Sing Se to warn them to step up their security just in case but everyone seems to believe the chances of them going there are unlikely."

"What do you believe?" Aang asked.

"I wouldn't rule out the possibility," Mai shrugged, "I'm a realist, it's in my nature to be skeptical."

Katara looked down at the floor in thought before looking back at Aang, "Do you think we should go?"

"To Ba Sing Se?" Aang looked at her and shook his head after Katara nodded, "No, there's no proof that they would be there. Ba Sing Se is days away and we don't know where these guys are. I think it would be best to just stay put until we get a bigger lead. Besides," he shrugged, turning his gaze to Mai, "Ba Sing Se would warn us if those guys were spotted there right?"

"I would think so," Mai said simply.

"You sure about this?" Katara asked Aang, "It's not like we'll be much use here just waiting for something to happen."

"We wouldn't be of much use waiting in Ba Sing Se either," Aang countered.

Katara was quiet for a few moments before she conceded a little reluctantly, "Okay, we'll stay in Omashu for now."

Mai nodded, "Well whatever you guys do, I don't think there is much else to look at here. Let's go and search around the rest of the city for the remainder of the day."

Aang nodded and followed Mai back to the spiral staircase but realized Katara wasn't following them. He turned around to see her still looking at the empty shelves and she seemed to be in thought.

"Kat, you coming," he said but she didn't seem to hear him and he raised his voice a little, "Katara!"

"What?" She shook her head as she was taken from her thoughts and turned to see Aang looking at her expectantly, "Right, I'm coming."

Aang extended his hand out to her and she gladly took it when she reached him, looking back over her shoulder to glance at the empty shelves one last time before Aang pulled her gently down the stairs. She trusted Aang and she trusted his decision to stay in Omashu. At the same time however, she couldn't help but feel that they had just breezed over the only possible lead they had on the whereabouts of Omashu's attackers. It bothered her a little. What if Aang was wrong? What if those men did end up going to Ba Sing Se? After what they had done here, what would they be able to do there? Katara had a sinking feeling in her stomach and she prayed to the spirits that Aang was right and she was wrong.

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><p>Sorin looked up at Tau and Ryu who were perched on top of one of the big boulders that made up part of the rock formation they had found. Luckily the area was pretty big; the airship was hidden under rocks a few dozen feet behind the group, having been covered up by Ryu's earthbending, and it wasn't noticeable by any Earth Kingdom soldiers that were looking for them. The covered airship really just looked like another rock and hopefully it would stay that way as Tau had decided that they would have to leave the airship alone for at least the next few days, maybe even weeks.<p>

The thing that had a little bit difficult to decide was how to get in Ba Sing Se but Tau's plan seemed doable and now, they were right in the middle of executing it. Sorin just watched as Tau and Ryu scanned the open plains around them. They had waited until the middle of the night for this, when the Earth Kingdom search parties would be heading back into the city. They had been watching the plains for hours, looking for a small group of soldiers travelling alone. Sorin couldn't see what his other two companions were seeing since he was surrounded by the many rocks around them, he was essentially standing in a small valley, but he guessed they weren't having much luck with their search.

However, right when Sorin thought this, things seemed to change and Tau turned and looked down at the firebender below him, "Ok Sorin, do it."

Sorin instantly perked up, glad that they were getting somewhere, "You see a group?"

Tau nodded and looked back out towards the group he had saw, only about one hundred yards away from them, "A group of four, travelling alone. Most of the search parties have already turned in for the night; this may be our only chance," he said, "So do it!"

Sorin nodded and began to move his arms in a circular motion. He could feel the energy building up inside of him as lightning crackled at his fingertips. He brought is hands together and then quickly shot one arm out, shooting the lighting at a large boulder a couple dozen feet away from him. The lighting struck its target and the resulting explosion echoed through the calm night air.

"Yep, that got their attention," Ryu said.

Tau looked and saw that the group of soldiers had heard the noise and they were slowly making their way over to its source to investigate, just as Tau anticipated they would.

"Ryu's right," Tau started, "Let them get over here and we will ambush them once they get where Sorin is now. They'll be trapped. And remember, we need their uniforms so when we attack…try to keep it clean."

His two other companions nodded in acknowledgment before Tau and Ryu slid down the boulder they were on and landed next to Sorin.

"Split up," Tau ordered, "go to separate sides so we can surround them, and don't do anything until I do."

With that, the three split off into separate directions. Sorin climbed up to a higher level and behind a smaller rock sitting atop of one of the bigger ones. Tau and Ryu hid opposite off each other, standing inside small cracks in between some of the boulders that they were easily able to stand in and letting the darkness hide them. Then, they simply waited. It was a couple minutes before they heard the soldier's footsteps and a few moments after that, Tau peaked out of his spot to see the four soldiers climbing over a small pile of rocks, making their way into the valley like area.

"I think it came from here," Tau heard one of them say.

"There's nothing here," another one said as Tau saw the group walk past him.

He slowly crept out of his hiding spot behind the group, forming a small tentacle of water in one hand and slowly reached out to the soldier in the back of the group. He wrapped the tentacle around the soldier's head, covering his mouth to muffle his surprised cry as he was yanked backwards. Tau caught the soldier and grabbed the back of his head, slamming it down into the boulder next to him, knocking him out.

The other three soldiers quickly turned when they heard a loud thump and saw Tau standing over their fellow soldier's body. Before they could do anything however, they were all taken out. Two rocks seemed to come out of nowhere behind the soldiers, hitting two of them in the back of the head, knocking them out as well. The remaining soldier attempted to earth bend at Tau but a blast of lighting hit him from above and the electricity engulfed him as his body fell over dead.

Ryu stepped out of his cover, walking over to Tau who was surveying the fallen bodies as Sorin jumped down from his spot.

"So much for keeping it clean Sorin," Tau looked up to give the firebender an amused look.

Sorin crossed his arms defensively, "We only need three uniforms and that was the fourth guy, get over it."

Tau shook his head and laughed to himself, "Well, besides that screw up, I think that went very well. I think it's time that we put on our new uniforms."

They spent the next several minutes stripping the knocked out, or dead, bodies of their military uniforms and once they were finished, the group looked like they were part of the search party that had been hunting for them for the past week and a half. Tau smiled at the irony of it, the very people sent to hunt them were about to allow them access into the largest, most securing city in the world.

Tau looked at his two other companions, who looked exactly like him at the moment. They were covered in the green armor, the large helmets on their heads, and if it wasn't for Sorin's gold eyes and Tau's blue ones, they would pass as perfect Earth Kingdom soldiers.

"Okay," Tau said as Sorin and Ryu gathered around him, "We got the uniforms but Ryu is the only one that looks like a real Earth Kingdom soldier. Sorin and I have features that could give us away so Ryu," Tau paused until he was sure he had the earthbender's attention, "You'll act as the squad leader at the gate to the city. You do all of the talking. Got it?"

"I can do that," Ryu nodded.

"Good," Tau said simple before continuing, "Sorin, you and I are just going to keep quiet, and don't make eye contact with the gate guards, understand?"

Sorin smiled, "Understood."

"Let's move out," Tau said, turning around to begin the long walk to Ba Sing Se's outer wall but Soirns voice stopped him.

"What about the bodies?"

Tau turned back to regard the fallen soldier's for a few moments, "Ryu…bury them."

Ryu obeyed, making a motion like he was pushing something down with his hands and soon after, the four bodies sunk into the Earth as if they had never been there.

* * *

><p>Aang opened the door to his and Katara's shared bedroom that night in search for her. She had left dinner early and for the better part of the day, she had seemed to be very focused on something. Furthermore, it seemed to bother her, so much so that he didn't even need their connection to notice that.<p>

As it always was now days though, he knew exactly where to find her. Sure enough, as he walked into their room, he saw her through the curtains leading to the room's balcony overlooking the city. He softly walked over to her, pushing the curtains out of the way and went to stand beside her wordlessly. She was resting her arms against the railing, looking out at the crowded city, but since it was late at night, it was calm and quiet which creating a peaceful atmosphere.

She tilted her head towards him when she noticed him standing next to her, mimicking her position, "Hey."

"Hey," he answered back softly, voice barely above a whisper as if he didn't want to disturb the peace surrounding them.

Katara smiled at him, before asking him just as quietly as he had addressed her, "You're wondering what has been bothering me today aren't you?"

"You know I don't like you worrying," Aang told her as his answer, "What's wrong?"

Katara sighed, knowing that she was going to have to talk to him about it, "Promise me you won't be mad okay?"

"When am I ever mad at you?" he answered back with a smile on his face.

Katara just pushed herself off the railing, "Just promise me Aang."

"Okay, I promise," Aang said, turning so his back was resting against the railing so he could look at her easier.

Katara took a deep breath, "I think you're making a big mistake," she told him bluntly, looking at him straight in the eye.

Aang regarded her thoughtfully. It wasn't often that she was so forward like this unless it was something that she was really passionate about or in some cases, angered. Judging by what he was feeling from her, he guessed this current situation was a mixture of the two, "What do you mean?"

"For a week, this city can't find any clues as to where these guys have gone off to," Katara started, looking back out over the city thereby breaking eye contact with Aang, "And then we find the slightest lead on where they could possibly go and you just toss it off to the side like it doesn't matter."

So that was what was bothering her. Aang sighed, "I didn't toss it off to the side. You heard Mai, they had already sent a letter to Ba Sing Se warning them of the possibility. What difference can we possibly make by going there that we can't do here?"

Katara looked back at him, staying quiet for a few moments as she thought before she spoke up again, careful not to raise her voice, "I know Ba Sing Se has been warned but what if that is not enough? What if those guys are in the city right now? You saw what they did here; just imagine what they would do inside of the Earth Kingdom's capital. We don't know what their motivations are, they could do anything. If we went to Ba Sing Se and they were there we have a chance at stopping them before they did anything terrible."

"I know what you are saying and I know where you are coming from," Aang told her, looking at her understandingly, "but what if they aren't there? What if they went somewhere else? Omashu is the one with the most resources dedicated to searching for these guys and if something came up, they would have a harder time reaching us if we were in Ba Sing Se. We're more available here."

"I know," Katara sighed, looking down at her feet, shifting them a little, "I just…I have a bad feeling about staying here."

Aang looked at her sympathetically. He wanted to just give in to what she wanted but this was something important and he felt like he needed to do what he felt was right since he was the Avatar.

"You know I would do pretty much anything to make you happy right?" he asked her softly, causing her to look back up at him, nodding before he spoke again, "but I just can't with this. This is important and as the Avatar, I'm expected to do what I feel is best for the world…I'm sorry," he hung his head regretfully.

Katara regarded him for a moment before stepping closer to him and taking him in a loving embrace; resting her head on his shoulder as his did the same, "You don't have to be sorry Aang. I know that your Avatar duties need to take the forefront sometimes. I'm not going to fault you for that."

"I promise," Aang started, hugging her a little tighter, "I promise that if we hear anything from Ba Sing Se then we will go there right away, even if it seems completely unrelated to all of this, okay?"

"Okay, Aang, that's all I ask," Katara pulled her head back to press her lips to his softly, before resting her forehead against his.

Aang closed his eyes, the feeling of her breathing against him bringing relaxation throughout his body. The couple leaned against each other, relying on the other for support while looking out at the night sky with a soft breeze blowing around them. Katara's hair blew with it, tickling Aang's face a little when the strands of hair brushed against him, but he didn't mind. He only smiled lovingly and held his soul mate tighter, nestling his head into the crook of her neck as she mimicked his movements.

The coupe stayed like that for a while, enjoying the calming atmosphere around them, neither of them wanting the moment to end.

* * *

><p>Captain Qin walked through the many tunnels that were inside the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. The military used them to travel in and out of the city and when they were not being used, they were always Earth bent shut. He finally reached the end of the tunnel where two guards sat at the exit, looking out over the plains that surrounded the city. The guards were stationed there to monitor the soldiers returning from the search for the fugitives, or terrorists as Qin's higher ranking officers had called them, that had attacked Omashu. Qin didn't really care what they were called though. As far as he was concerned, they were simply men that needed to be hunted down and he was tasked with managing the search.<p>

Qin was a muscular man, a small beard forming his face as he wore the typical Captains uniform for the Earth Kingdom army. He had been among those that had defended Ba Sing Se during the siege in the Hurndred Years War. He had been promoted to Captain for his heroic actions he had done during the battle, saving a squad of Earthbenders that had been ambushed and then following that up by leading that same group to take out one of the Fire Nation's strong holds. That had proved to be the turning point in the siege as apparently the Fire Nation General's son had been killed in the fight that had taken place. By the end of it, Qin was promoted and for the past few years since then, he was often assigned to handle the defenses of the wall. By now, he knew it probably better than anyone.

"How are we doing men?" he asked walking up to the two stationed guards.

"Everything is well sir," they bowed, "No problems."

"Has everyone turned in for the night?" Qin bowed respectfully back to them.

"We believe so sir," one of the guards answered, "We're just waiting a bit longer in case there are a few strangler's."

"Hmm," Qin looked out onto the plains, seeing three figures walking towards them, "Good call."

The two guards turned to see what their Captain was looking at and they spotted the same thing he did. They waited until the three men in the distance reached them and it was Qin who spoke up, "You're late," he said.

The man in the front of the group with green eyes looked at the captain before the three soldiers bowed respectfully, "Our apologies sir," the leading man said, "we heard a crashing noise and we went to investigate."

"Find anything useful?" Qin asked, looking at the two men behind the leading one, the darkness from the night hid their facial features rather well but they seemed at ease.

"No sir," the leader said, "nothing to report."

Qin gazed over the group for a few moments before nodding, "Very well, come on through and have a good night's rest. The search starts again at dawn."

"Yes sir," the leader said while the three men bowed again, "Thank you sir."

Qin watched as they walked past him and down the tunnel before turning back to talk to the two guards that had once again began to wait for anymore soldiers that might show up.

Unbeknownst to them, they had done exactly what was expected by them. They had been fooled.

Walking down the dark tunnel leading into the Earth Kingdom's capital, Tau couldn't help but smile in his disguise.

They were in Ba Sing Se.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't really have much to say about this chapter...next one will be up Monday.<strong>


	15. Upping the Ante

**You know, I always like to have reviews to see what people think of the chapters and whatnot...but this one...I REALLY want to see what people think of this.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>Three weeks. Three weeks with no progress at all. Three weeks of walking around Ba Sing Se, searching through all of the libraries they could find. Three weeks of trying to locate any amount of information on the Spirits they were looking for, or better yet, finding the missing pages of Kuruk's Journal. All of that work, met with failure.<p>

Tau would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't frustrated. He was a man that liked progress, at any level. Sitting around for three weeks in the most populated city in the world simply wasn't his cup of tea. Tau thought back on those weeks remembering that after they had snuck into the city; he, Ryu, and Sorin had quickly trashed their Earth Kingdom uniforms and they easily blended in well with the crowds. They looked like any other ordinary citizen of the Earth Kingdom and it wasn't hard to find an inn located in the middle ring to stay in for their time in the city.

The inn wasn't large, it was actually no bigger the averaged sized home, and besides the innkeeper and her son, Tau and his group were the only ones there. It was just the way he wanted it. At first things seemed to be going well, but that had soon changed.

Tau sat in his own room on the bed, holding his head in his hands, trying to suppress his frustration. They were so close, but yet so far. The first thing they had done was try to gain access to the archives but Ryu had been right, only extremely high ranking officials were allowed in. Anyone else that had access to the archives had special permission from those high ranking officials. With being able to simply walk into the archives out of the question, the idea of simply sneaking in had been tossed around, but once again that plan was out the window before it even came to fruition. The archives were simply to heavily guarded, no doubt because Ba Sing Se had heard about the events in Omashu. Tau knew that stunt there would come to bite him in the back.

After that, they did the only thing they could do. They searched every library in the city for anything pertaining to spirits. Sure, they found books talking about the spirit world but those had only common knowledge in them. Nothing about ancient, unknown spirits was even mentioned and now, Tau knew they had come to a dead end. They either had to get access to the archives in some way or go to plan B: enlisting the Avatar. Tau only wanted to do that if it was necessary though, besides, the Avatar wasn't even in Ba Sing Se. If Tau wanted him here, then he would have to lure him here somehow.

Tau picked his head up sharply when his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Yes?" he said, gently.

"My mom said dinner's ready," a young boy said behind the door, "She said to come and eat before it gets cold."

"I'll be down in a minute," Tau replied, and he heard the boy say a quick 'okay' before he was heard running down the hall and the stairs to the inns dining room.

Tau smiled, in spite of himself. The boy, Zi, reminded him of some of the children he met during his travels in the Earth Kingdom, before his capture by the Fire Nation. The boy was only seven years old, with green eyes and short black hair, and he had a certain energy about him that tugged on Tau's heart strings a little. The boy had in his childhood what Tau didn't; peace and happiness, and Tau envied him a little for that.

The Waterbender stood up from his bed, wearing typical Earth Kingdom clothing, and made his way out the room and down the staircase, seeing a woman, no older then thirty-five, setting some dishes on the table, filled with meat, and other foods that Tau and his friends were not able to have during their travels. It was something that they had gotten used to in the three weeks they had been here though and Tau knew he would miss it when his goals forced him to move on.

"Oh, there you are," the women said, spotting him, "come take a seat, I'm sure your hungry."

"Thank You Ming," Tau smiled at her and took her offer, taking a seat opposite of her as she sat down as well. Tau watched for a few moments, studying her features. He had to admit, she had an attractive quality to her. She had light brown hair, hanging down to her shoulders and green eyes that always seemed to be filled with joy despite what she had been through, and as far as he could tell, her white skin was flawless. He knew that underneath she was different though. Her husband had died in the Hundred Years War, executed after the Fire Nation had taken control of Ba Sing Se after Azula's Coup and he had tried to fight back, leaving Ming alone to take care of her son. That loneliness though was part of what made her love being an innkeeper. As Tau had soon found out, she was very friendly and she was all too happy to house his group here.

"So where are your friends?" she asked curiously, beginning to eat.

"That must still be out searching," Tau told her.

"Still no luck?" she questioned.

"No," Tau shook his head slowly, taking a bite of his food. He had told her a short version of what they were doing in Ba Sing Se, looking for important information for a research project they were doing. Of course that wasn't the complete truth; Tau knew he could never tell her everything and after all the kindness she had shown him and his two companions, he felt a little guilty manipulating her like he was. After all, she was the one that directed them to all of the libraries, telling them where to go, where to look, what university professors they could talk to for help. Tau promised himself that he would find some way to repay her, even if it was just giving her extra money.

After a few moments, Zi ran into the room, taking his own seat in between the two older people around him and began eating and Tau laughed a little at his energy.

"Someone's in a hurry," he said, causing the boy to look up at him.

"I'm hungry and foods good," the young boy said, "Don't you think mom cooks good food Tau?"

"Yes she does," Tau answered, looking over at the woman across from him, "You mother makes very good food."

Ming blushed slightly and laughed, "It comes from years of practice. Zi needs to grow up nice and healthy so he can live a better life then I was able to. I want what's best for him."

Zi smiled and turned looked at Tau excitedly, "Mom say that when I grow up, I could change the world. Dad was some big boss guy in the army. She says I can become just like him."

"Set your mind to it and you will," Tau assured him.

"You really think so?" the boy said, eyes brightening.

"Sure," Tau shrugged, _just look how far I have gotten in my quest, _"You just need to work at it and be persistent."

Zi smiled and quickly finished his dinner before once again getting up and running off, probably somewhere outside to play with his friends.

"He finished fast," Tau said, watching him go.

"He's young," Ming smiled affectionately at her son as he disappeared from her gaze, "He can't sit still for too long."

"He reminds me of a lot of the young kids I would meet in my travels in the Earth Kingdom during the war," Tau said, thinking back to all those years ago.

"Did you interact with them often?" Ming asked curiously, he had told her about his Earth Kingdom travels but he never went into details about it.

"Sure," Tau smiled at the memories, "Even during war kids needed to have fun and I was only about nineteen at the time. I played with them and watched over them until my group had to move on. Sometimes we wouldn't go anywhere for weeks and I grew attached to some of the kids."

Ming saw Tau's smile fade and turn into a frown while his eyes seemed to ghost over and it concerned her, "What is it?"

"Not everything was all flowers and sunshine though," Tau said sadly, "During the war, you would always her about the terrors that the Fire Nation inflicted on people but you would never hear of what the Earth Kingdom would do."

"What are you talking about," Ming tilted her head, pushing her plate away as she finished eating, "What did the Earth Kingdom do?"

"Soldiers" Tau started, "They would always abuse their power when they could. They did what they wanted as long as there wasn't any Fire Nation to fight and nobody could stop them."

Tau paused, one event sticking to the forefront of his mind, "There was this young girl I had met, she was fourteen, and her name was Miyumi. Her parents had died a few years before me and my fellow warriors had arrived at her town to help its soldiers defend it from the Fire Nation. When I began to interact with the other kids, she took a liking to me because we shared something in common."

"And what was that," Ming asked, resting her head on her hands, listening to Tau's story intently.

"We both lost our parents at a young age," Tau said sadly, looking down at his lap, "When I was six my mom was overcome by this terrible illness that ended up taking her life, but before it did my dad ventured out from our village in the South Pole to try to find her a cure…and he never came back. To this day I don't know what happened to him, and my mother died right in front of me. I remember sitting next to her, begging her not to go…"

Tau drew off, a few tears gathering in his eyes before he wiped them away and shook his head.

"That's a different story though," he said, looking back up at Ming, "Point is, Miyumi and I understood each other and in the weeks that followed I became like an older brother to her. I spent a lot of time with her, teaching her, helping her when she needed it but then one night, something happened to her that I will never forget."

"Was she killed," Ming said, captivated by his story.

"No," Tau shook his head, his eyes narrowing and his voice sounded a little bitter, "I was walking through the streets of the town one night and I heard her screaming. I followed her screams and I came across a dark alleyway. I saw three soldiers there gathered around something. I found out seconds later that she was in the middle of them and they were," Tau paused, figuring out how to word his next sentence, "taking advantage of her in…various ways."

"What did you do?" Ming asked her voice barely above a whisper.

"I stopped them," Tau clenched his fist, "And I made sure that they would never be able to do anything like that again…but Miyumi wasn't the same after that. She always had this haunted look in her eyes, she was broken. I had to take her to see the town's psychologist," he shook his head, "I am not even sure if she ended up recovering from that experience though. I had to leave a week after and I haven't seen her since. She would be in her late twenties by now…"

Tau remained quiet for a few moments. That was only one of the many memories he had of things similar to that, of the Earth Kingdom abusing its power. It reminded him of why he was on his personal journey now. With any luck, the spirits they were looking for could make the world a better place and free it from people like those soldiers that had taken advantage of Miyumi. Tau knew that no matter what it took, these spirits had to be found, no matter the costs or the sacrifices. Tau rubbed his eyes to get rid of a few more tears as Ming spoke up after a few minutes.

"But that was just an isolated incident," she whispered, tears in her eyes from the story, "The Earth Kingdom protected us. They wouldn't abuse their power like that."

"That's where you're wrong," Tau looked at her sternly, "That wasn't an isolated incident. I saw plenty more things, soldiers forcing kids to fight; hurting people just to let out their anger…the list goes on."

Ming looked like she was going to respond, the front door opened and Sorin and Ryu quickly walked in.

"Tau we need to talk," Sorin said.

Tau looked at him and then back at Ming, "Will you excuse me?"

Ming nodded slowly, "Go ahead, do what you need to do."

Tau turned back to his two companions and motioned for them to follow him. He led them up the stairs and into his room, shutting the door behind him and locking it, "What is it?"

"Well," Sorin began, "Ryu and I were thinking that it's about time that we stopped looking around like a bunch of lost sparrow-mice and we actually start doing something productive."

"Right," Ryu nodded, stepping aside to allow Tau to walk past him and sit on his bed before looking at Ryu for him to continue and he did, "We're not getting anywhere. We either need to find a way to get into the archives or find a way to get the Avatar."

"You both feel this way?" Tau looked back and forth at the two men standing in front of him.

"Yes," Sorin said, crossing his arms, "The longer we are in this city the more risk we are putting ourselves in."

Tau looked down thoughtfully, working up a plan in his head. They were right; they were voicing exactly what he had been thinking earlier. He connected all of the pieces in his head of what they would have to do to gain access to the archives and failing that, getting the Avatar's aide.

He looked back up at his friends who were waiting patiently for him to speak, "Only high ranking official are allowed to give access to the archives…Ryu, you helped run this city for years, who would someone go to if they wanted access?"

"No one is going to just let us in," Sorin said, expecting for Tau to have a different plan then just simply asking for permission. Didn't Tau know that they wouldn't get it?

"Ryu, who could we talk to for access," Tau asked again, ignoring Sorin for the moment.

Ryu shrugged, "You could talk to one of the five generals but even they would have to get permission from a higher authority and that could take weeks and we won't get permission anyway," he finished, mirroring Sorin's thoughts.

"I know we won't get permission, not with how tight the security is now," Tau responded, "We are not going to ask for permission, trust me I know better than that. Just tell me, if I wanted instant access to the archives, who would I go to?"

Ryu looked at Tau curiously before replying simply, "The Earth King."

"Then get ready to go out for the night," Tau smiled at his two friends, "I think it's time that we give the Earth King a visit."

* * *

><p>Katara sighed contentedly, as she looked down at her boyfriend lying next to her, his head resting on her lap as she leaned back against a tree in the middle of the palace garden, wearing her green Earth Kingdom robe and hair cascading over her shoulder's and down her back. The garden they were in was probably the only place with trees and grass in the entire city and it became the spot that the couple spent the majority of their time in. They had long stopped searching for clues left behind by the attacker's of Omashu. There wasn't anything to find. Search parties had been called off, people resumed their normal everyday lives, and Katara, along with the rest of the group, was able to just sit back and relax until something else came up.<p>

She didn't know where everyone else was and she didn't care, they could handle themselves. Her hand reached down to stoke Aang's cheek gently, while her other hand held one of his own. She enjoyed the soft feel of his skin and her actions earned her a smile from him as he closed his eyes and let the body heat coming from her upper legs sooth him. If he had it his way, he would stay like this all day, reveling in his soul mate's touch as her hand traced the contours of his face gently. The garden brought a relaxing feeling to both of them. The green plants around them and the shade provided by the tree was enough to create a space that Aang could easily find himself drifting off in, especially when Katara was doing what she was now.

"Don't fall asleep on me," she told him gently, squeezing his hand while stroking it with her thumb.

"I'm not…going to sleep," he whispered back lazily.

"Sure you're not," Katara gazed at him, feeling his head becoming gradually heavier on her lap.

"It's not sleeping," he retorted, "Its resting my eyes."

"Oh," she laughed, "Of course. That's what it is. I'm sorry I didn't realize that sooner."

He could feel her body rumble from her laugh and he opened his eyes from the disturbance to look up at her, seeing gentle, affectionate eyes staring back at him. A blush rose to his face under her gaze as he reached up to caress her cheek with the back of his hand, gazing back at her just as lovingly as she was.

Next thing he knew, her hands held his face and she gently coaxed him up to her lips, kissing him slowly, the feeling bringing tingling sensations that seemed to run throughout their bodies. Aang's arms wrapped around her waist as she rested all of her weight on the tree behind her; her hands holding the back of his head, making sure that he couldn't break away from her.

The kiss stayed gentle and slow, neither of them wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere that hung around them. They broke apart a few minutes later and Aang nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck, feeling her hair brush against his face in the process. He felt her sigh into his shoulder as her arms held him tighter.

"You know," Aang whispered a little regretfully into her ear, "I have to leave in a little bit."

Aang beat himself mentally for saying that when Katara pulled back from him to look him over, "Why?"

He leaned back on his hands, "You know…I just have…stuff to take care of."

"Oh, it's another one of you 'errands'?" Katara guessed, crossing her arms and giving him a small smile.

"Yeah," he looked away from her, his cheeks becoming red as she seemed to be catching onto what he was doing. He had left to go to the marketplace alone many times during their three weeks in Omashu. The thing that made Katara suspicious of what he was doing was that he told her she couldn't come with him. He had a hard time keeping from her what his purpose in going without her was.

"I'm guessing I can't come with you this time either right?" she frowned.

Aang shook his head, "This is the last time I am going though. I promise."

Then, all of the pieces seemed to connect in Katara's mind. Today was the last time he would be leaving after nearly a dozen times in the past three weeks. She didn't think it could be a coincidence that he seemed to be done with his shopping when her birthday was only two days away.

Katara smirked at him, "Aang I told you that you didn't need to get me anything."

"What!" Aang's eyes widened and his blush deepened, "I didn't say anything…about getting you…something," Aang paused thinking quickly, "I'm just getting food for…Appa."

"Please Aang," Katara laughed, "The palace servants give him plenty of food. Don't try to lie to me like that."

Aang sighed, "Okay, so I have been working on your birthday present and I am picking it up today. Please don't try to find out what it is though, okay? I worked hard on it."

"Okay Aang, I promise," Katara watched him as he stood up, "You really didn't need to get me anything though."

"I know I didn't," Aang told her, walking backwards away from her, "But just trust me, you'll love it."

Katara opened her mouth to respond but before she could say anything he turned around and ran off and she shook her head and laughed to herself at his rush to get out. She knew she had made him a little uncomfortable by figuring out what he had been doing, which was what lead him to leave quickly.

The Waterbender stood up to make her way back inside the palace, thoughts drifting to things that Aang could possibly be getting her. If it was anything like Aang normally did for her, she was sure she was in for a surprise.

* * *

><p>Kuei, King of the Earth Kingdom, was awoken from sleep by a loud thud. He quickly sat up in his bed and rubbed his tired eyes while he looked around his room. Nothing was out of order. Everything was as he expected it would be.<p>

_It's probably just one of the guards, _he thought, lying back down in his bed.

The young King's eyes drifted shut and he was just about to fall back into sleep when he heard the thud again which was followed by another thud a few seconds later. Once again he sat up in bed as he heard yet another thud. Perplexed, he got up off the bed to walk over to his closet to put on a loose robe. He curiously opened the door leading out of his room and stepped into the darkened hallways.

He looked both directions, but he didn't see anything. It was quiet, the only noises that could be heard was a small storm that was raining down over the city. Maybe that was what the thuds were? Maybe it was just lighting? Thinking that was exactly what it was, Kuei turned around to head back into his room when he heard footsteps down the hall. He turned his head to look down to where the noise came from.

"Hello?" he called out; expecting one of his guards to answer him, but no answer came. He was met with silence.

He slowly made his way down the hall until he came to another hall branching off from the one he was in. Like the rest of the hallways, it was dark and Kuei couldn't make out anything that may be in the branched off hallway. He took a few steps into it, only to hear footsteps coming from behind him.

The king felt a tingle run down his spine and he swiftly turned around, thinking that he would find someone standing there. Once again though, he was met with silence. He cautiously walked back the way he came, and looked down the hall back to his room. A few more sounds of thunder echoed through the hallways and the king's breathing quickened, his heart beating frantically in his chest. Something wasn't right. His guards would never play tricks on him. He was either just imagining things or someone else was here in this section of the palace with him…someone that wasn't supposed to be here. At the same time, he should have seen a few of his guards by now. Where did they go? It unnerved him and he ran back into his room and shut the door behind him, breathing heavily as he rested his forehead against it.

"Not how you were expecting things to go tonight is it?" a voice asked from behind him.

Kuei turned around quickly to see a figure wearing a dark cloak sitting on his bed, "W-who are you?"

The figure just stared at him, regarding him quietly as the king backed up into his door only to be nudged forward when it opened behind him and he turned around two see two more cloaked figures walk into the room, closing the door behind them. They stood there, blocking off the only exit from the room and Kuei turned frantically around to the man sitting on his bed.

"What's go-going on?" Kuei asked nervously.

The man stood up, pulling back the hood of his cloak, revealing short dark hair and cold blues eyes that seemed to pierce right into Kuei's soul, shaking the Earth King to his core.

"Earth King Kuei, my name is Tau," the man said, then gesturing back at the two men behind Kuei, "My friends are Ryu and Sorin."

Kuei turned around to see the two other men, pull back their hoods, revealing to him green and golden eyes staring at him, "W-what do you want?"

The king felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see Tau gazing at him, "Please, sit down and we can begin our…negotiations."

Tau said it gently, calmly, and despite Kuei being unnerved by the whole situation, he found himself obeying Tau's request.

"Now," Tau began, once Kuei sat down on the edge of the bed while Ryu and Sorin began walking around the room, eyes never leaving the Earth King, "We have something to request of you. Something we need you to do for us."

"And what might that be?" Kuei asked, eyes darting around to the three men surrounding him.

"It's not anything major or unreasonable," Tau said simply, clasping his hands together, "We just need you to allow us access to Ba Sing Se's archives, the real one. Not that proxy you leave open to the public."

Kuei's eyes widened, connecting the dots, "You're…you're the men that attacked Omashu."

"Give us access to the archives and we will be on our way," Tau responded, neither confirming nor denying the King's guess.

"No," Kuei answered forcefully, "I will not give in to terrorists like you!"

"Terrorists?" Tau raised his eyebrows, "Is that what we are being labeled as? Your majesty, I assure you, we are far from terrorists. If you just let us into the archives no one else has to get hurt and this problem can be solved easily and harmlessly."

"You will never get access to the archives," Kuei stood up and looked at Tau determinedly, "Not if I have anything to say about it. You _are_ a terrorist, whether you believe yourselves to be or not!"

Tau stepped forward, his hand shooting out and pushing the Earth King roughly back onto the bed, "I don't think you understand the situation you are in. You are in no position to bargain or to refuse," Tau told him sharply, "You listen to me right now. You are going to come with us to the archives and help us find what we are looking for. Once we get what we need, you are free to go and we will leave this city. No one has to get hurt. Is that really so hard to do? It is a simple request really. I am just asking for an hour of your time."

"You have no right to be here," the king shot back, "Once my guards find out…"

"You're guards?" Tau interrupted, crossing his arms and laughing to himself, "I assure you, your guards will not be coming to help. You are alone here with no one else around. I suggest you make this easy for yourself and lead us into the archives right now."

"No," Kuei said, his voice quivering a little as he looked down at his lap.

"You sure?" Tau asked, voice calm and steady, "I really don't want to make things difficult but if you don't cooperate with us then my friends and I will have to seek…alternative solutions."

"I said no," the Earth King looked back up at him defiantly.

"It's no use," Ryu said, motioning his hands towards the king, "He won't help us."

"Pity," Tau shook his head, gathering some water in one of his hands and freezing it over his fingers.

"What do we do?" Sorin asked.

"Plan B," Tau said simply, moving his fingers holding the frozen ice over them back and forth in front of Kuei, "Last chance. Yes or no?"

"No," Kuei answered, "No matter what you do. You will be stopped. You won't go far with this!"

"I beg to differ," Tau shrugged, extending his hand forwards, aimed at the Earth King, "It's nothing personal, if that is any comfort to you."

Kuei just sat there, staring straight at the frozen daggers of ice aimed at him. Was this really it? After all the times he had been manipulated through his life, was he really going to be killed after having true rule over his nation for only a couple of years? Was his life really just leading up to this? Everything that he had worked for, gone in a matter of seconds; how would Ba Sing Se go on without him? He didn't have any heirs. There would be a power struggle. None of that mattered now though. There was nothing he could do. He could only hope that his General's could keep order in the city. The Earth King closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and prepared for what was to come next.

"Come and get me Avatar," Tau said before the ice daggers shot out of his hand.

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah...I really wish I had a happier chapter for the Fourth of July but having a chapter is better then no chapter right?<strong>

**Anyways, I hope you all still liked it and happy Fourth of July!:)**


	16. Katara's Birthday

**Okay, so, if there is any reason whatsoever that this fic would be rated M...it would be this chapter. My beta and I decided it was still T though but I would say this is still a REALLY high T. So yeah know...just a heads up.**

**I don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>Katara gradually awoke to the soft feeling of someone's lips pressing against her forehead, then to the tip of her nose, then to her cheeks, and then finally, those soft pair of lips met her own. She relaxed into it, making no effort to break away nor did she try to take it any further. She just simply laid there on the bed, reveling in the comforting feeling of having her boyfriend hovering over her and his gentle lips slowly moving against hers. Her arms wound around him to hold him to her, and she sighed softly when he pulled away. Her eyes opened, seeing his grey, affectionate ones staring down at her.<p>

"Happy Birthday," he whispered, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand.

Katara smiled and closed her eyes again, "Well it's off to a good start."

Aang laughed gently, before giving her another kiss on her forehead.

"What're we doing today?" she asked, opening her eyes back up to look at him curiously.

"The days all yours," he told her, brushing his hand through her hair, "What do you want to do?"

She was silent for a few moments as he waited patiently for her to answer, "We could…take Appa and go have a picnic somewhere outside the city?" she suggested, "To tell you the truth, I am starting to get a little tired of all the crowds. I think it would be nice to just have some peace and quiet for one afternoon."

Aang nodded, agreeably, "That sounds perfect. We should at least stop by and see your brother before we go though. I would think he'd want to see you at least a little bit today."

"Probably," Katara answered back, closing her eyes once again when Aang began to massage the back of her head with one of his hands.

Aang smiled down lovingly at her. Katara's breathing was slow and steady, her whole body relaxing under him. He could feel her hair over his hand, the long brown tresses spreading out around her and his free hand began toying with it; twirling it around his fingers and brushing it.

What Aang was doing felt incredibly good to her and Katara didn't want him to stop anytime soon. As if he were reading her mind, he didn't stop. Her continued for the next several minutes until she seemed content with getting up.

He got off of her, allowing her to sit up next to him, smiling "Okay, I think I'm ready to go now."

Aang rolled his eyes, answering sarcastically, "It only took half an hour."

"Hey," Katara leaned back on her hands, "You didn't have to keep doing that."

"You wanted me to," Aang shrugged, "And what Katara wants, Katara gets."

"Only because she has the most wonderful guy in the world to look out for her," Katara laughed, leaning forward to kiss his cheek affectionately, before adding quietly, "And I wouldn't want things any other way."

Aang's cheeks turned to a light pink color as he gave her a soft smile before standing up and walking over to the closet. He grabbed her green Earth Kingdom robe and tossed it to her. She caught it and gave him a 'thank you' before standing up to get dressed, tying the robe around her waist. She looked up to see Aang putting on his Avatar robes that he had been wearing more often recently, probably because they hadn't been doing anything strenuous.

He never liked wearing them while they were travelling, but one relaxing days like today; he would usually wear them, especially since Katara had once told him that she like him wearing his Avatar robes. She had told him they were soft and that if felt good to snuggle against them when he would hold her. He knew what she meant; he liked her Earth Kingdom robe for a similar reason.

Once he was all dressed, he saw that she had moved over to the mirror placed on the side of the room, trying to do her hair loopies. He also saw that she seemed to be struggling with it; which made sense. He was the one that often did her hair for her now in the mornings; she probably wasn't used to doing it anymore.

"Here, allow me," he said, walking over to her, causing her to turn around and give him a grateful smile, handing him the small beads that would connect her hair loops to the rest of her hair.

He began to gather some of her hair, rolling it into a bun, before placing one of the beads in it to hold the bun together. Katara just watched his reflection in the mirror, giggling silently to herself at the look of concentration on his face as he gathered smaller chucks of hair in the front of her face and connected them to the bun on the back of her head. The rest of her hair was free to cascade over her shoulders and back and he nuzzled his head into it, placing a soft kiss on the back of her neck.

"All done," he said, as he pulled back, allowing her to turn around to face him, "You should have just let me handle it to begin with."

She shrugged, "I thought maybe we could head out faster if I did it while you were getting dressed…that didn't do too well."

"Well before we go, anything else you want," he said, smirking, "you know, since you're on a roll with trying to manage things this morning."

Katara crossed her arms and bit her lip thoughtfully, "I wouldn't mind seeing that present you got me."

"Later," Aang laughed.

"Later," she pouted playfully, a small frown on her face, "Whatever happened to 'what Katara wants, Katara gets'"?

"Hey," Aang waved his hands in front of him defensively, "You'll still get it…just not now."

Katara shoulders slumped, "It's been bothering me ever since I found out you were getting me something."

"Well you going to have to wait a little while longer," Aang smirked teasingly at her.

"Ugh, fine," Katara conceded, before grinning at him mischievously, "I wouldn't mind having a few kisses in its place for now though."

Aang grinned back and walked up to her before pulling her into his arms, forcefully pressing his lips to hers. A soft sigh was heard from the back of her throat as she seemed to meld into him, his robes engulfing her as she spent the next several minutes focusing on his touch and nothing else.

* * *

><p>After seeing the rest of their friends, the couple headed out to the stables to get Appa. They flew the bison out of the city to one of the many small mountains surrounding it and they spent several minutes looking for a nice clearing to land on, finally finding a grassy hilltop. Aang guided his bison down to the base of the hill where he grabbed the small basket that was brought with them and jumped off of the bison, catching Katara as she jumped down as well.<p>

Aang petted his animal guide on the nose, telling him to wait for their return, before taking Katara's hand and leading her up to the base of the hill. Once at the top, Aang let go of her hand and crouched down and opened up the basket before pulling out a small blanket for them to sit on.

While he was setting up, Katara took the chance to take in their surroundings. They were on one of the highest areas around the city and the view was breathtaking. She could see miles and miles of the small mountain range surrounding the city of Omashu, while the city itself was also clearly visible. It was covered by small patches of fog and it gave the city a very mysterious appearance but in a way, it looked beautiful.

"This is nice," she said, looking down at Aang, who was currently taking food out of the basket.

Aang looked back up at her and smiled, "Yeah, it is," he responded, gazing at her meaningfully, causing a light blush to form on her tan cheeks as she sat down beside him.

He handed her a small bag of food and the two of them began eating in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Half an hour later, they were all done; the bags that once held the food having been long tossed to the side and the couple was content to just relax against each other.

Katara was sitting, curled up on his lap, her head resting on his shoulder. Her left arm was wrapped around his body while her right hand was holding the shoulder that her head was not currently using. His own head was resting against hers, one arm wrapped around her waist while the other was around her shoulder's, holding her securely against him.

He tilted his head, nuzzling it into her hair, breathing in her fresh scent and sighing contentedly before kissing her temple. She responded by placing a few soft kisses against his neck and holding him a little tighter.

"You know," he murmured, not wanting to ruin the calm aura around them, "I think I might be ready to give you your present now."

"Yeah?" she answered just as quietly.

"We'll have to head back to the palace though," Aang told her, his voice not sounding like he was particularly happy about that. He was happy to just sit here and relax a bit longer. He didn't feel like leaving his girlfriends embrace yet which was why he mentally slapped himself for bringing the conversation up when she surprising leapt up out of his arms.

"Let's go then," she looked down at him excitedly.

He looked up and gave her an amused look before standing up as well, "If that's what you want."

Katara noticed that hint of disappointment in his voice, not to mention what she was feeling from her connection, "You weren't quite ready to go, were you?"

Aang looked like he was going to deny it but instead he just simply shrugged, "Not really."

She frowned slightly, a little ashamed that she had just got up without thinking about what he wanted, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," he shook his head and interrupted her before she could make any unnecessary apology, "I'm sure we will have plenty of time for more of that later. Let's just pack up and go, okay?"

She gazed at him for a few more moments but upon feeling his disappointment vanish, she bent down to help him gather up the items from their picnic before carrying them back to Appa, setting them down in the saddle.

Aang jumped on the bison's head, saying the usual 'yip yip' and Appa took back off to the city. Next thing he knew, Katara climbed down from the saddle to sit beside him, resting her head on his shoulder while her body leaned against his. She still felt a little bad for ruining their moment on the hilltop so she couldn't help but come down to Appa's head to join him, even though the flight was only a few minutes. Still, those few precious minutes were spent cuddled up against him and she became a little disappointed herself when Appa landed back at the stables.

Before she could hop off of Appa, Aang picked her up and jumped down while holding her against his chest, causing her to giggle slightly, and began to walk them back into the palace, letting the palace servants take care of Appa. He carried her through the halls, ignoring the amused looks and smiles that the guards gave him before finally reaching their room.

He walked them in, leaving the door open behind him before setting her down on the bed as she looked at him with a wide smile on her face.

"Now you wait here," he told her softly, bending down to give her a quick peck on the lips, "I'll be back in a minute."

With that, he turned to walk out of their room after Katara gave him a small nod, leaving her alone. She did what he asked though, knowing that he wouldn't be gone for too long. He would never just leave her there waiting for an unreasonable amount of time. She smiled at how the day had gone so far and laid back on the bed, thoughts drifting off to the young Avatar who returned several minutes later. She didn't hear him walk back into the room but she picked her head up when she heard the door close and she saw him standing before her, holding a good sized wooden box in his hands.

She sat up, gazing at the box curiously as he carried it over to her.

"Here you go," Aang sat down on the bed next to her, a wide smile on his face, "It was really difficult to get so I hope you like it," he passed the box to her, "Happy Birthday Kat."

Katara gave him a grateful smiled before looking down at the box sitting on her lap and she opened the lid on the top of it to see what was inside. She gasped upon seeing a bundle of orange and red colors, not quite believing what the gift appeared to be.

She carefully pulled it out of the box as a robe with a mixture of air nomad colors revealed itself in front of her. She looked it over, eyes widening, looking back down into the box to see light brown pants to go along with it.

She smiled, holding Aang's present against her and looked at the boy staring anxiously at her, waiting to hear her thoughts.

"Aang this is…" she started, not knowing what to say, "I…how…how did you get these."

"I found a shop that specializes in making custom made clothing," Aang smiled at her, "I remember how the clothing for the woman airbenders looked so I didn't have a hard time picturing what it would look like. I just had to make sure that they were being made right."

"That's why you left so much," Katara stated, looking back at the robes in her hands.

Aang nodded, "I wanted it to be done right. Those are pretty much as close to air nomad clothing as we're going to get. I already have some things to wear from your tribe and I thought…well…that you would like something to wear from the air nomads," He paused gauging her reaction, "Like it?"

Katara turned back to him, a few tears gathering in her eyes, "Aang, I love it…thank you."

He smiled when she leaned in to kiss him tenderly, proud that he made her happy.

"I've have to go try them on," she smiled wider then he had seen in a long time, "Wait here."

Aang shared her smile and nodded back at her, watching her disappeared into the bathroom connected to their room as the door closed behind her. He waited, somewhat impatiently, for several minutes, eager to see what she looked like in the air nomad clothes. When she opened the door back up a few minutes later, he looked up to see her standing there, holding her hands down at her waist shyly, and she nearly took his breath away.

To him, the outfit seemed to fit her perfectly, her tan skin accenting well with the golden and red colors of the sleeveless robe. The part of her robe on her right shoulder was a deep red color that extended down to the top of her stomach before being covered up by the gold fabric that was featured on the majority of the outfit. The golden colors extended all over her left side and lower right with flaps of the gold fabric hanging at her front and her rear, reaching down to her ankles, much like her watertribe outfit did. To finish it off, the lightish brown pants covered her legs. She had unbraided her hair, letting all of it fall over her shoulders, her blues eyes staring at him anxiously.

"So…,"she said, shyly twirling her hands, "How do I look?"

Aang blinked, finally coming out of the trance that he found himself in and saw that she was a little embarrassed. He stood up and walked over to her before taking her into his arms and giving her a slow, loving kiss before pulling back, "You're beautiful Katara."

Her blushed reddened at the way he said her name as if he was longing for her…desperate for her.

"You look like a true air nomad," he whispered happily, gazing deeply into her eyes.

She smiled, resting her forehead against his, "Well that's good. Once we get married, it'll be true, right?"

His eyes widened at her statement that had seemed to come from nowhere. Despite everything, they had never talked about marriage before. Of course, he wanted to marry her but he was going to wait to ask her until he turned sixteen. He wasn't sure if that was necessary since he wasn't a citizen of the watertribes but he thought he should at least respect that tradition. Still, knowing that she had been thinking about it warmed is heart and instead of answering her directly, he pulled her into a heated kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth before she even realized he had kissed her.

Her eyes widened in surprise briefly before she closed them, moaning into his mouth when his tongue brushed against her. Her hands gripped him tighter, clutching his robes as their tongues battled for dominance. One of his hands brushed through her hair while the other found its way to rest upon her butt, squeezing it gently and coaxing another moan from the girl in his arms. He squeezed again as her grip became tighter on him before she pulled her head back to look into his eyes. Both of them were breathing heavily, breaths mingling in the few inches of space between them, their eyes reflecting what their hearts so desperately desired.

Taking a deep breath, Katara pulled him over to the bed, laying down on it as he positioned himself over her. A hand came up to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear affectionately, before he leaned down and once again captured her lips. Their tongues resumed what they had been doing earlier; stroking against each other as the kiss deepened, allowing the couple to delve deeper in each other's mouths.

Aang rested his elbows on the bed to hold himself over her, his hands stroking up and down her neck; her own hands tracing circles on his back. He pressed his hips against hers, causing them both to draw in a deep breath as the couple broke apart, gazing at each other with wide eyes; Katara shivering when she could feel his desire pressing against her center. Both of them saw the need that they were holding for each other, they felt it, and neither of them wanted it to end.

"Katara…" Aang whispered, caressing her cheek lovingly.

She gave him a soft smile, "Come here Aang."

One of her hands gripped the back of his head, pushing him down to her lips once again. She didn't hold the kiss for long as she tilted her head to plant kisses across his cheeks, her hand pushing his head down a little further so it nestled into her shoulder, allowing her easy access to his ear. He groaned softly when she nibbled on his ear gently, darting her tongue into it quickly, causing him to shiver as he bucked his hips against hers again in response to her attentions. She couldn't help but moan at the feeling of his body pressing against her sweet spot and she moved her hips up against him, wanting the feeling to come over her again. The result of her actions caused both of them let out loud groans, their lips once again connecting desperately.

Aang pressed against her a little harder, feeling his soul mate hold him tightly against her, her legs wrapping around his waist as if to make sure he wouldn't stop. She didn't have to worry about that though. He couldn't stop, not when her hips began to move against his a little quicker which caused his own hips to mirror hers. They continued pressing their hips desperately against each other as their kisses became more frantic, both of them driven by the feelings that were beginning to overwhelm them. One of his hands moved to run up and down one of her legs that tightened around him in response as their hips began moving a little more frantically.

Both of their faces flushed a deep red that traveled under their clothing, warmth pooling in their lower regions. Their lips broke apart as the couple gasped for air, muttering each other's names lovingly. The hand that had been stoking her leg moved down to hold her butt, pressing her hips harder against his own, filling the room with more moans. The pleasure seemed to increase for both of them but before anything went further, a loud knock was heard at their bedroom door.

The couple froze, halting their movements which left an aching feeling in their lower bodies as they tried to calm their breathing.

"W-who is it?" Aang said, being the first to get his breathing to a manageable level.

"Its Sokka, could you let me in?" the watertribe warrior asked from the other side of the door.

Aang looked back at Katara, eyes wide, knowing that if Sokka saw how they looked he would be furious. He got off of her as she sat up trying to think of what to say.

"Um, you can't come in right now Sokka," Katara started, taking another deep breath.

"Uh, yeah…we broke a vase and there's a lot of glass," Aang added, trying to calm his body down, "It might be dangerous."

Katara looked at Aang eyebrows raised, "That's really the best that you could come up with?" she whispered.

Aang shrugged while Sokka's exasperated voice could be heard outside the door, "Aang, I'm sure I'll be fine. Just let me in, it's important."

"Well can it wait?" Katara asked, a little frustrated at how things were turning out, _A few minutes ago Aang was about to make me…ugh Sokka ruined it._

"No it can't wait," Sokka answered now slightly annoyed, "There's a messenger in the throne room that says he has important news. You two need to go there now."

"Well do you really need to come in here to tell us that," Katara scowled.

"Ugh, just be there okay?" Sokka huffed before the couple heard him walk away.

They remained silent for the next several minutes, casting shy glances at each other. Both of them surprised at what they had been doing, but at the same time, both of them wanting it to happen again.

"So…" Aang started, rubbing the back of his head, "That was…"

"Amazing?" Katara said simply, glancing at him questionably.

"Yeah," Aang smiled and looked at her, taking her hands in his, "Amazing."

"Yo-you don't think…we went…a little too far," Katara bit her lip, a little nervous by what his answer would be.

Aang was silent for several moments before shaking his head, "No, love is something special that we share with each other…if that's where it leads us, we shouldn't fight it. If our hearts tells us that were ready then we should embrace it…and my heart tells me that I'm ready to take that next step with you."

Katara smiled at his words as her heart fluttered in response, squeezing his hands, "Mine to Aang."

Aang smiled and stood up, bringing her up with him, "Well then Ms. Airbender, I think we should go ahead and head to the throne room before Sokka tries to walk in on us again."

Katara giggled at his statement and looked down at herself, "Well speaking of the air bending cloths…I think they got a little wrinkled."

Aang looked her up and down and smiled, "It shouldn't be too hard to fix."

He reached forward and began smoothing out her new robe with his hands, the action feeling quite nice to her as his hands continued to glide over her body for the next few minutes. Once the robes were all straightened out, he took her by the hand and led her out their room.

Once they reached the throne room after walking through several hallways, they saw Bumi, Zuko, Mai, Suki, Sokka, and the messenger. They were standing around Bumi's throne waiting for them; the throne itself being occupied by Bumi.

Katara saw everyone looking at her, probably looking over her new cloths but none of them seemed surprise. In the back of her mind, she figured that Aang had probably told all of them what he was getting her…maybe some of them even helped acquire it.

"You know, I was skeptical at first," Suki started, looking Katara up and down, "But that actually looks really good on you."

The other members of the group nodded their agreement while Katara gave them all a 'thank you' before Bumi silenced them, taking the letter that the messenger had been holding.

The group was quiet for a minute or two while Bumi read the letter over.

"Oh my…" the King said, surprisingly at a loss for words.

"What?" Aang said, becoming a little nervous at his friends reaction.

The king didn't answer him though as Zuko walked up and took the letter from his hands to read it himself.

His eyes widened and the letter fell from his hands, slowly gliding towards the ground.

"What is it?" Aang asked again, watching the letter's back and forth movement, turning his head back up once the letter hit the ground, "What happened?"

"King Kuei," Zuko started, pausing to take a deep breath before forcing the next words out, "Has been murdered."

* * *

><p><strong>So clearly, this was just a nice fluffy chapter to balance out what happened last chapter<strong>**...but fluff is good right?**

**Now I did have some inspiration of what Katara's new air nomad robes would look like from a nice little piece of fanart right here, just take away the spaces:**

http:/ browse. deviantart .com/?q=aang%20and%20katara&order=9&offset=480#/d1l40h2

**I just want it to be clear that I did not draw that. My artistic skills are AWFUL. Whoever did that is an amazing artist. I love that picture. Katara's new outfit in this fic is based on that, though there are some small differences.**

**Anyways, as always, read and review.  
><strong>


	17. Guilt

**I don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>"What?" Aang yelled, heart pounding in his chest, "What do you mean Kuei was murdered!"<p>

"It means someone killed him," Mai rolled her eyes, trying to keep her cool, "It means he's gone."

Aang glared at her, "How can you be so…"

He was interrupted by a gentle hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see Katara looking at him with sad eyes, obviously feeling what he was going through.

"Getting angry isn't going to get us anywhere," Katara told him gently, "We just need to all calm down and figure this out, okay?"

Aang nodded as well as the rest of the group as Zuko finally composed himself and bent down to pick the note back up to explain it further. Everyone gathered around him as he began talking.

"It says that they found Kuei dead, lying on his bed a few days ago," he started, "The bed sheets were stained with blood and the king looked like he had been stabbed repeatedly. They found four punctured spots on his body, mostly in the chest region, and they assumed he died instantly without pain."

"I guess that is a least a tiny bit of good news…relatively speaking," Suki spoke up, "No one should have to suffer a slow death."

The group nodded in agreement before Zuko spoke up again.

"Apparently a pile of bodies were found in a closet…all of them belonging to palace guards," Zuko said.

"So they killed the Earth King in his own palace?" Katara asked, before adding, "Does the letter say who killed him?"

"No," Zuko shook his head, "It says any other traces of anyone else being there are gone."

"It has to be the same guys that stole the royal airship," Mai said, "They weren't playing around and they knew what they were doing. The King's murder a few weeks later can't be a coincidence."

"The question now is what happens to Ba Sing Se," Bumi stated, finally speaking up, leaning his head on his hands thoughtfully, "Does it say who is running the city now Fire Lord Zuko?"

"The Five Generals," Zuko answered, reading the note again, "They're trying to stop any power struggle that could spring up. They also said that they sent messages out to the watertribes asking all of the leaders to gather up at Ba Sing Se for a meeting. The meeting will take place in a couple of weeks."

The King of Omashu nodded, "We should get ready to depart then for Ba Sing Se in a few days. You could join me there Zuko since your method of travel has been destroyed," he leaned back on his palace chair as Zuko nodded in thanks and the group stayed silent for a few moments, all of them lost in their thoughts. The one that seemed to be affected the most was Aang.

The young Avatar's heart felt like it was burning, tears dripped down his cheeks as he faced away from the rest of the group. He could feel Katara stepping closer to him in concern but she stopped when he spoke up in a shaky breath.

"We…we n-need to leave now," his voice quivered, "E-evryone get packed…were leaving in a couple of hours."

Before anyone could say anything, he stormed of, walking quickly out of the room with five pairs of concerned eyes watching him. Katara bit her lip, knowing exactly why he was so upset and she followed him, telling Sokka and Suki that she will meet them at Appa in a couple of hours.

Aang had been walking so quickly though that she lost track of him but to her surprise she could still feel him. She could tell where he was, as if her heart was being pulled to him, and she followed the feeling straight back to their room. She walked in and felt her eyes water when she saw him sitting on the balcony, his shoulders shaking and holding his head in his hands. He was crying…she hated it when he cried.

She walked slowly over to him, careful not to startle him and bent down to take him into her arms, resting her head on top of his as she felt him nuzzle her shoulder. His hands gripping the front of her golden robes while sobs continued to rack his body. Besides his tight hold on her, he didn't make any other movements to acknowledge her presence…she didn't expect him to. She could feel a great deal of guilt and pain coming from him and she knew that the only thing she could do was to just be there for him, and so she was. She geld him a little tighter, planting soft kisses on the top of his head for several minutes until his cries began to subside. He still shook in her arms and she tried her best to sooth him but she could feel his pain still lingering inside of him, not willing to go away.

"I-its my –f-fault," Aang forced out, voice muffled by her robes that he had buried his face into. "He's de-dead because of me…"

"Shh, no he's not Aang," she told him, resting her chin on top if his head, looking out over the city through the balcony's railings, "Why would you say that?"

"Because is true," he said, his voice finally seeming to lose its quivering sound but it was replaced by bitterness.

"No its not," she said sternly, rubbing his back gently, "Don't think that."

"You don't understand Katara!" Aang raised his voice pulling quickly away from her, looking at her with sad, hurt eyes, "It was my decision to stay in Omashu. It was my decision to wait until we knew where they were before we left. We did wait…we did what I thought was best to do and now the Earth King is dead…I let that happen," Aang paused before his voice cracked as tears fell down his face as he spoke out the next words, "What kind of Avatar am I?"

Katara opened her mouth to speak, but Aang held his finger up to silence her.

"Don't," he pleaded, "Don't try to tell me any different just to make me feel better," he looked away from her, self hatred in his voice, "I made a mistake…I messed up. I should have listened to you when you said we should go to Ba Sing Se. We could have stopped it."

"I should have listened to you," he repeated, his hands clenching into a fist, "but I didn't. I ignored what you thought would be right…I'm sorry Katara," he finished, his voice once again beginning to quiver.

"You don't have to apologize to me Aang," Katara said, scooting a little closer to him, "You did what you felt like you had to do and no matter how it turned out…I admire that you stuck with what you believed in."

"How does that change anything?" Aang cried, looking back at her, "It doesn't change the fact that he is dead…and that we could have stopped it if we had been there…if we had done what you said to do. Whoever decided that I would be the Avatar made a mistake!"

"Don't say that," Katara said sharply, causing him to look at her in surprise, "Don't say that about yourself. Not after all you have done for the world. Not after you defeated Ozai and gave us peace. You're being too hard on yourself. We don't know what would have happened if we had been at Ba Sing Se."

Katara paused, taking in a deep breath, "Yes, maybe we could have stopped Kuei's murder, but we DON'T know that and it doesn't help to dwell on what could be. What happened, happened, and now we need to decide what we are going to do about it."

"Well what can we do?" Aang asked, his voice quiet. Katara had never heard him sound so vulnerable.

"We go to Ba Sing Se and we find these guys," Katara said determinedly, "And we don't let them get away."

Aang gazed at her, finding no other words to say. He still felt guilty, there wasn't anything she could say to change that but he knew that he had to do something, not just sit here in self pity. He leaned forward, falling into her waiting arms and the couple held each other, the sun beginning to set above them and the sky becoming a pinkish orange color as a result. It was comforting to the two benders and several minutes later they broke away, Katara using her thumb to wipe away a few more tears that had run down her soul mate's face.

"Now let's go get packed, okay?" she said, standing up and pulling him up with her.

He nodded, allowing her to drag him back into their room as they began to gather their belongings.

She packed her unused clothing into her bags, deciding to keep wearing her new air nomad clothes.

Katara couldn't help but look over at Aang in concern as he packed his own things. She could still feel that he was blaming himself. She could still feel his pain. Unfortunately, she knew that she couldn't vanish all of those thoughts from his mind. All she could do was to be there for him and she resolved to do just that…just how she always had.

* * *

><p>"Okay, now we just need to wait on the two lovebirds," Sokka said as he finished setting Suki's bag on Appa's saddle after taking care of his own bags. The couple and gone ahead and taken Appa from the stables to the courtyard in the front of the palace because Sokka thought that it would just make it easier for his sister and her boyfriend if they didn't have to walk all the way to the stables. Besides, it would allow them to leave a little faster.<p>

"Aang was pretty upset Sokka," Suki stated, climbing up to join him on the saddle, "Give them a few more minutes."

"Wells its almost dark out, there's barely any sunlight left," Sokka retorted, looking back at the entrance to the palace, "If we don't leave now we might as well just stay here for the night and leave tomorrow morning."

"They'll be out here soon," Suki assured him, "They know we have to leave."

Sokka just sighed and remained quiet, looking back away from the entrance with his arms crossed, feeling Suki eyeing him curiously.

"What's your problem anyway?" Suki wondered out loud, "You're usually picky about scheduling but you're not usually this…obsessed about it."

Sokka looked at her, "Were you not there when Zuko read that letter?"

Suki rolled her eyes, "Yes I was and I heard every word, but correct me if I'm wrong…I don't think that's the only thing your thinking about right now."

Sokka gave her a soft smile, "When did you start knowing me so well?"

"I've always have known you pretty well," Suki laughed, "And if I were to guess…I would say that it has something to do with your sister and Aang."

"Yeah, you're right," Sokka nodded.

"And if it has to do with them and it irritated you," she continued, "I'm assuming you walked in on them again?"

"Pretty much," Sokka nodded again, grimacing as he remembered hearing his sister's moans on the other side of the doorway when he had gone to tell the couple about the message.

"At the same time, you told me you were going to forget about all of that a month ago and stop worrying about whatever you sister is doing," Suki pondered, looking as if she wasn't finished yet.

"Hey just cause I agreed to stop worrying about it doesn't mean that I am pleased at knowing what they were doing," Sokka said quickly before Suki could say anymore.

However, she simply waved his comment off and spoke up again, "So if it has to do with what they're doing, but not you being worried about it…I would have to say that you're jealous."

"Jealous?" Sokka raised an eyebrow at her.

Suki nodded and shrugged, "Jealous that your sister's relationship is, to put it frankly, deeper than ours is."

Sokka blinked at her, surprised. She had pretty much nailed it effortlessly and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks, "Well I…"

Suki cut him off with a quick kiss, "If it means anything," she smiled at him, "I wouldn't mind trying to change that."

Sokka looked at her skeptically, "Really?

She nodded.

"But a month ago you didn't seem like you wanted to do anything more then we already had," Sokka stated, "You seemed content to just keep things the way they were."

"That was a month ago," Suki shrugged, "We had just been reunited again and I wanted to take things slow. It's different now…"

Sokka looked at her for a few moments, as if he were deciding if she was serious, before placing his hand on the back of her head and slowly pulling her to him. Their lips were just inches apart and he could feel her breath against him, the couple closed their eyes, lips brushing together when a voice pulled them apart.

"Sorry we took a while, we had some things to take care of."

Sokka tilted his head back and groaned in frustration, recognizing the voice as his sister's. Really, the one time he and Suki might actually be doing something more with their relationship, they get interrupted.

_Figures, _he thought.

"Hey," Suki greeted peaking over the saddle at the young couple walking up to Appa with Zuko and Mai behind them, "You guys alright?"

Aang didn't say anything, he just hoped up onto Appa's head after airbending Katara onto the saddle along with their bags. Katara looked towards Appa's head worriedly, heart aching with concern for Aang.

"I am," Katara said, turning to Suki to answer her question before adding sadly, "But I'm not sure about him," she looked back towards Appa's head as Suki followed her gaze.

"He'll get over it," Sokka waved his hand nonchalantly, causing his sister to turn and glare at him angrily.

She opened her mouth to speak but Zuko spoke first.

"I hope you guys get their safely," he said as the group looked down at him and Mai over Appa's saddle "Mai and I will meet you there in a couple of weeks for the meeting."

"And don't get lost on your way there either," May added.

"Thanks for the warning," Katara rolled her eyes, voice filled with sarcasm.

"Don't mention it," Mai responded, yawning as if she were bored.

The friends spoke their goodbyes before Appa took off and flew away from the city, which only became a small black dot after a few minutes.

Once they were all situated on the saddle, Katara pulled what water she could out of the air and hit Sokka with a mild water whip in the forehead.

"Ow," he yelped surprised, his hand coming up to rub the mark the whip left, "What was that for?"

Katara didn't answer him, just shaking her head in annoyance before crawling over to the front of the saddle. She needed to be close to Aang right now. He was clearly still in distress, from what she could feel, and she longed to comfort him. She carefully climbed down onto Appa's head and Aang turned to look at her when he felt her presence beside him, giving her a sad smile.

"Aang…" she began but stopped when he put a finger on her lips.

"Can we just not talk right now?" he requested.

Katara nodded, feeling his finger leave her lips, and she scooting closer to him so their sides were touching while she rested her head on his shoulder, comforting him with her closeness. She felt his head rest against her, her arms coming up to hug him from the side while one of his hands held her waist. She kept quiet, just as he requested, simply watching him hold Appa's reins with his free hand, guiding the bison to where they needed to go.

They stayed in that rather comfortable position for quite a while. The sun had completely set, the night sky surrounding them as Appa continued flying through the air.

"Hey, are we going to land and make camp anytime soon? It's getting a little late."

The young couple that had been relaxing in each other's embrace looked up to see Sokka looking down at them.

"We're not landing," Aang said, turning back to face forwards, "We're flying straight there."

"What?" Sokka's eyes widened, "That will take days. We can't…"

"Sokka!" Katara raised her voice, getting her brother attention in the process, "It's what we're doing, deal with it!"

Sokka looked at her for a few moments before shaking his head, sighing, and disappearing back onto the saddle.

"Are you mad at him or something?" Aang asked her once he left. He too had been a bit surprised at her sudden outburst.

Katara lifted a hand up to massage her forehead, "He's just so selfish and inconsiderate sometimes," she murmured. If she was honest with herself, she didn't know why she had gotten so mad at Sokka either, but for whatever reason, she had taken Sokka's comment on Aang 'getting over it' very personally. She guessed it was just because of how close she was to Aang but Sokka being so uncaring about him about him and acting nonchalant about it had really pushed her the wrong way.

She came out of her thoughts to see Aang nodding, satisfied by the answer she gave him.

The couple continued sitting in silence, Katara watching him guide his bison for the next hour or two. She spent her time looking over the saddle to see what she could see on the ground but unfortunately, the darkness of the night concealed almost everything. She turned her head back to her boyfriend when she heard him yawn and she saw that his eyes were drooping as he forced himself to stay awake.

"Aang you need to get some rest," she said, her voice taking on a motherly tone.

"We can't stop," Aang shook his head, picking his head back up sharply when his head fell as he almost drifted off.

"Then I'll fly Appa for now, just get some rest…please," Katara whispered the last word.

Aang looked over at her tiredly, seeing the concern she had for him in her eyes, and he gave her a soft nod. Katara smiled at him, taking Appa's reins, one of her hands patting her lap in a silent invitation for him to lie down. He accepted her unspoken question and laid his head down on her lap, her body heat comforting him through her brown pants. It felt nice to him, and he soon found himself drifting off into sleep as one of Katara's hands stroked the top of his head.

She smiled down at him, heart fluttering when she saw a small smile on his face, any negative emotions he had had were now temporarily vanished. It amazed her that she had that affect on him. That she could make everything better by just being there for him to hold onto.

She smiled as she leaned back, arms draped over Aangs body while her hands held Appa's reins. Her whole body relaxed, comforted by the feeling of Aang resting his head on her thighs and the soft air nomad cloths that she had become quite accustomed to, even though she had only been wearing them for a few hours. She couldn't quite place her finger on what made the outfit so comfortable but she knew that part of it had to do with how loose it felt on her. It felt as though it was hanging off her body but it wasn't, it was securely on her, and she had noticed earlier when she had looked in the mirror that the outfit framed her figure quite nicely, arguably better than her watertribe outfit did. Whatever the reason was on how the outfit managed to feel so loose and comfortable on her, it was something that she knew she would be wearing quite often. Part of her was even considering to maybe having some copies made once this whole problem they were facing was over. She giggled to herself, the air nomads must really know their clothing, no wonder why Aang seemed to prefer to wear his own air nomad clothes almost every day. She had assumed it was because it helped him feel more connected to his past but after wearing air nomad clothes herself, she believed there was little more to his reasons then that.

_Maybe it was something as simple as comfort_, she pondered.

The night dragged on for Katara like that for the next several hours. She would drift off into her thoughts as Aang continued to sleep and by the time the sun rose, she too was struggling to keep her eyes open.

Thankfully, Sokka leaned his head over Appa's saddle to look down at her and her slumbering boyfriend. He looked well rested, after having a good night's sleep with Suki.

"Did you get any sleep?" he asked after seeing how tired she looked.

She shook her head, "Aang was exhausted and someone had to watch over Appa."

"Well, here, let me take over for now," Sokka offered, "You look like you could use some sleep."

Katara nodded gratefully, gently shaking Aang awake.

"Huh, what is it?" He rubbed his eyes as he sat up.

"Sokka's taking over for now, let's go back up to the saddle," she said.

Aang nodded, taking hold of her, and airbending her up onto the saddle as Sokka took their place at Appa's reins. Suki gave them a small wave as they situated themselves and Aang waved back at her as he pulled away from Katara to look at her, his eyes widening with guilt when he saw the look of exhaustion on her face.

"Oh Kat, I'm sorry, I…"

Katara shook her head at him, and rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes, "Don't bother," she whispered tiredly, "It's fine, you needed rest more than I did."

Aang wrapped his arms around her, leaning back on the edge of the saddle, allowing her to lie comfortably on top of him, "At least get some sleep now."

Katara nodded, feeling his hands brush through her hair as she drifted off in his warm embrace.

Aang smiled down at her tired form affectionately as he heard her breathing become soft. Her body slacked against him, letting him know she had drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

"Kat?"

Aang looked up to see Suki gazing at him curiously and blushed, realizing that Suki had heard what he had called Katara.

"Please don't tell Sokka," Aang asked her.

Suki smiled at him, "I won't, you can trust me," she paused, thinking for a second before her smile widened, "It is cute though."

Aang's blush deepened as he looked back down at the girl in his arms, rubbing gently circles on her back or running his hands through her hair for the next several hours.

* * *

><p>Tau looked out the window of his room a few days later. It had been a week since his…visit with the Earth King and if he worked things out in his head right, the Avatar should be here sometime today…possibly tomorrow if he moved slowly enough. However, Tau figured that after hearing about the Earth King's death, the Avatar wouldn't likely be the one to take his time. He would rush here.<p>

The way Tau saw it, the Avatar should have arrived at Omashu long ago. If the Avatar had still been there at the time of the Earth King's death then he figured that it would be a few days for the Avatar to receive word of it and then a few more days for him to reach Ba Sing Se, which brought Tau to where he was now. He had been looking out the window patiently for the better part of the day, looking in the skies for the Avatar's bison.

At first Tau had thought that the Avatar would arrive by one of the many trains coming into the city but upon Ryu telling him that the Avatar often travelled on his Sky Bison, Tau couldn't help but be relieved. Spotting something in the sky was a lot easier than trying to spot the Avatar mingling in crowds of people coming off of the trains.

"You've been sitting there for quite a long time."

Tau turned around at the sound of the voice to see Ming standing in the bedroom's doorway.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you," she smiled politely, "May I come in?"

"Of course," Tau said, motioning her to sit on the edge of his bed, "It is your inn."

Ming laughed and sat down, "Well I do like to respect other people's privacy."

Tau smiled at her and leaned back against the wall, making sure that he could still see out the window with his peripheral vision.

"May I ask what you have been doing all day?" Ming questioned, folding her hands on her lap, "Your friends left to wander the city like you guys always seem to do but then Zi said he didn't see you leave with them…is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Tau shook his head, "Thanks for the concern though."

"So then what have you been doing?"

"I'm watching for the Avatar," Tau said simply and honestly. Ever since that day he had told her the story about Miyumi a week ago, he found it very easy to talk to her. She was never rude, always respecting his space but at the same time, she was always there to talk to. He admittedly held a lot of bitterness for people. After what he had seen from the Earth Kingdom and because of the events that led to his capture, it was hard not to. This woman though…she changed something in him when she was around. She made him want to just sit back and have a normal life, but that could never happen. Not now. Not after what he had done. He had given up whatever chance he would have for normal life when he embarked on his search for the unknown spirits and he was doing what he had to do. For the first time though, part of him was regretting it. Part of him wished he had met Ming sooner.

The girl that clouded his thoughts spoke up after a few moments, "A lot of people are looking for the Avatar. Many are saying that he should be here any day now since the murder of the Earth King. People would like to believe that he'll help us."

Tau gave her an assuring look, "He'll be here to help. He's the Avatar…it's his job."

_Then again, _he thought_, if he was doing his job well I would never have gotten this far._

"What do you think will happen," Ming asked.

"Excuse me?" Tau questioned, taking a quick glance out the window.

"To Ba Sing Se, to the Earth Kingdom," Ming elaborated, her voice sounding very worried, "The line of royalty for the throne as always been filled for centuries but King Kuei doesn't have an heir. Who'll replace him? I overheard someone saying on the streets that that will be a power struggle between the politicians and Ba Sing Se could erupt into chaos…that there might even be a small civil war."

Tau looked at her sympathetically, finally leaving his spot on the wall to sit down besides her, thinking. He didn't quite know what to say. Anything that would result from the King's death would be his fault, and she was obviously worried about what could happen…a worry that he had caused her. For some reason, that knowledge left his heart aching, "I…it won't come to that," he finally said, looking into her eyes and giving her an encouraging smile, "I may not know much about Earth Kingdom politics but I would think the government would have something in place to help keep things in order. You don't have anything to worry about."

"You sound so sure," Ming said smiling at him.

Tau shrugged, "You have to hope for the best. A lot of things could happen and focusing on the negatives will only make things worse. You have to focus on the positive things…not the things that could haunt you for years."

"Is that how you cope?" Ming asked curiously, "With the things you saw in the Earth Kingdom and your…capture by the Fire Nation during the war. Is that how you clear those things from you mind?"

Tau gave her a sad smile, "I like to keep myself occupied. That doesn't mean that the memories ever leave though. What happened to me is in the past, I can't change it now, just as no one can change what will happen to Ba Sing Se right now. But what can be changed, what people like us have control over, is the future. As long as we're willing to do what is necessary, things can turn out better."

"It sounds like you talking from experience," Ming smiled.

"I am," Tau said, returning her smile, "Those thoughts are what keep me going…and thinking like that can help you too," he told her, placing his hands over hers, "Trust me, don't dwell on what could happen. Keep doing what you've been doing and as long as you do what you believe in…things will turn out fine. I promise."

Ming gave him a grateful smile, feeling comforted, "You seem to know what you are talking about, you always do…I wish I shared you're confidence."

Tau laughed lightly, "I get that a lot."

He met her green eyes that were staring back at him in curiosity. He could see the unspoken question in them; she knew that there was a lot more to him that what he had told her. At the same time, he could clearly see that she trusted him and he felt a little guilt catch in his throat because he knew he didn't deserve that trust from her. He sighed and looked away from her causing her to tilt her head in concern, but before she could say anything, Zi burst into the room.

"Mama," he said leaping onto the bed next to his mother.

Ming laughed at her son, surprised by his entrance, "What is it sweetie?"

Tau looked at Zi as he whispered something to his mother and to give them some privacy he stood up, walked back over to the window, and gazed out at the clear blue skies; continuing his search of the Avatar's bison. As if his timing couldn't have gotten any better, he saw a small black dot in the distance. It had to be him. Tau smiled, knowing that he would have to talk to Sorin and Ryu sometime today to figure out what they were going to do. Sure, Tau had his own ideas in his head, but he had learned that his other two companions weren't short on ideas either. He was willing to listen to them.

"Tau?" Ming spoke up from behind him, causing him to turn back around, "Can I ask you a really big favor?"

"Sure, go ahead," Tau nodded at her to continue.

"Zi and his friends," she said, smiling at her son, "Want to go to the middle ring's park. I have a lot of house work left to do though…you don't think you could…"

"I can watch over them," Tau smiled, knowing what she was trying to ask.

"You would?" she asked.

"Of course," Tau said simply, "Zi and I get along real well."

Zi nodded enthusiastically in agreement, the young boy having taken a liking to the Waterbender.

Ming, seeing that her son was rather enthusiastic about it, smiled and stood up to give Tau a light hug, "Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't mention it," Tau responded as Zi grabbed his hand and began to pull him out of the room.

"Come on Tau, my friends are outside!" the younger boy said.

Ming laughed as the older man let her son drag him out of the room only to peek his head back in the entry way a few seconds later, "And Ming?"

She nodded at him to continue.

"The Avatar's here," he said, before Zi had pulled him out of the doorway.

Ming turned around and looked out the window curiously, seeing the Avatar's bison descending upon the city, looking as if it was heading straight for the Palace. She couldn't help but smile.

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><p><strong>Not really much to say about this chapter. Read and Review. Next chapter will be up Thursday.<strong>


	18. Crossing Paths in Ba Sing Se

**I don't own Avatar**

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><p>Katara hopped off of Appa once the bison landed in the courtyard in front of King Kuei's palace.<p>

_Well, at least what used to be his palace, _she reminded herself.

The rest of the group dismounted along with her, looking around at the empty space surrounding them. It was odd, usually they were greeted by crowds of people but right now there was no one in sight. The group exchanged confused glances and right when they were about to make their way into the palace, General Howe walked out of the entrance, followed by two soldier's behind him.

"Avatar Aang," he said once he reached the group, "Master Katara, Warrior Sokka, and Kyoshi Warrior Suki, I can't thank you enough for coming."

Howe bowed to them respectfully and the group bowed back in return.

"So General," Sokka said, "Where is everyone? Why is this place so empty?"

"Everything's fine," Howe assured, "We simply just didn't want crowds of people gathering here when you guys showed up. You understand. After…what happened, we are very nervous about letting people near the palace. We have the area sealed off for now, but that will change tomorrow."

"What's happening tomorrow?" Aang asked as him and Katara were both curious as to what Howe meant.

"We're having a service in honor of the late Earth King," Howe explained, "We have already had a quiet funeral for security purposes but we feel that the people of the city deserve to hear a few words about their King. It is also a good chance to assure them that everything is under control."

"Is everything under control," Katara asked skeptically, "Or is that just what you are going to say to assure people?"

"A little of both," Howe admitted smiling at her, impressed, "Things aren't as bad as we initially feared. There was some unrest in the city when the King's death was announced but luckily, the rest of the Council of Five and I have been able to keep order. We have control of the city as a collective group and it will stay that way until a suitable replacement to the King is found."

"How will you choose? Are there certain people that you are looking at to take Kuei's place?" Aang questioned.

"We are looking for people that are already involved with Ba Sing Se's government. Someone that knows how to run things and someone that is respectable," Howe answered, "It may take many weeks, maybe months, to come to a decision."

"So what can we do for you now," Suki asked, "We're here and we would like to help out if we could."

"For now there is nothing that we need you to do," Howe said, "As I said, we are having a service for the Earth King here tomorrow. A podium will be erected where we are standing right now and since you are here, I would like you all to join me and my fellow Generals up there. You won't have to give a speech or anything but I think people will take comfort in the fact that the world's heroes are in the city with them."

"We'll be there," Aang nodded towards him.

Howe nodded back, "In the meantime, you may do what you like. Would you like me to get you rooms to stay in the palace or would you prefer to just stay in your usual home in the upper ring?"

The group exchanged glances before Katara spoke up, "We'll just stay in our own house. It'll be more convenient for us."

Howe nodded, "I'll at least let my guards escort your bison to the stables. I'll see you all tomorrow."

As Howe turned to walk back into the palace, his two guards gently led Appa towards the stables after Aang pet his bison on the nose in a quick farewell. The group picked up their bags that they had taken off of Appa and made their way to their home in the upper ring of the city.

It didn't take them long to get there and once they walked into their home, long since rebuilt from Toph's destruction during their first stay in the city years ago, they unpacked. The couple picked out their rooms, Aang and Katara picking the largest one, much to Sokka's disappointment. Once everything was unpacked Aang took Katara by the hand and led them back out onto the streets.

"What are we doing?" Katara asked him, curious as to why he had suddenly dragged her out of the house.

"We have nothing else to do," Aang answered and gave he a small smile, "I just thought we would take a nice walk…we don't have to though."

"No I'm fine with it," she smiled back at him, "Just warn me next time before you decided to drag me along with you."

"Heh, sorry," Aang grinned, "but maybe I was just excited to spend some time with my favorite Waterbender."

She blushed, a pinkish hue barely visible on her cheeks as she squeezed his hand lightly.

"Besides," Aang continued, "We haven't had much alone time since we left Omashu."

"Being in a small saddle with my brother for four days straight would usually result in that," Katara laughed.

Aang laughed with her for a few moments before she spoke up again.

"Speaking of me being a Waterbender though," Katara said, "I was thinking that maybe you would want to practice with me a little."

"Of course," Aang said as they began walking through the more crowded streets as they entered the middle ring of the city, "What did you want to practice?"

"Well you know how a few weeks ago Zuko told us about that Waterbender?" Katara asked.

Aang nodded, "Let me guess. You want to see if you can to what he was able to."

Katara nodded back to him, "I've been meaning to try it earlier but I kept getting sidetracked by a certain airbender.

"Hmm," Aang thought aloud jokingly, "I wonder who that could be."

Katara rolled her eyes at him, "Well for the record, it was one of the few times where I enjoyed getting sidetracked."

Aang just gave her a wide grin before they remained silent. Neither of them quite knew where they were going. They were just walking around trying to find a suitable place to practice waterbending. Upon seeing them, people would bow to them in respect and they heard a few whispers but thankfully, people let the couple have their space. Eventually, they reached a large grassy clearing, away from all of the homes and shops, and they saw several children running around together, their parents watching them from a few benches scattered around the area.

"This must be the middle ring's park," Katara observed.

Aang nodded in agreement, "Come on lets go. I'm sure we could find some space to practice here."

Katara allowed him to pull her into the grassy fields and a few minutes later they found a small clearing, out of the way from the rest of the people in the park.

"Luckily to practice this, we don't need a source of water," Katara said, pulling some water out of the air experimentally.

Aang watched her, mimicking her movements as he was also able to pull water out of the air, though it was nearly as much as she was able to. Katara streamed the water around her before evaporating it and attempted to gather some more water from the air, but unable to gather more that she was usually able to.

"I wonder how that one guy does it," Katara wondered aloud before turning to Aang who was playing with his own stream of water, "Do you think he makes different motions…maybe a different technique."

"I don't see why he would," Aang shrugged, "Gathering water from the air just sounds like one technique. I don't think there really is another way to do it. Personally, I just think he has a lot of practice."

"Maybe he is just stronger then I am," Katara muttered, a little frustrated after once again failing at pulling a wave of water from the air.

"Don't get worked up about it," Aang chided, sensing her frustration, "You know that doesn't help."

"I know," Katara sighed, closing her eyes for a few moments to clear her head on her frustration before trying again.

The couple spent the next several minutes practicing and while they were, something caught Katara's eye. It happened after yet another failed attempt and as she evaporated the water, she saw someone off at the other side of the park, leaning against a small tree. At first she thought nothing of it but after a few more failed attempts at forming waves from the air, Katara looked at the person leaning against the tree in curiosity. From what she could tell, the person was a man and if she was seeing things right, he was looking right back at her. In fact, it seemed to her that he had been doing that for quite a while. Suddenly, the man turned away from her and she saw him turn his attention to a few kids that were gathering around him joyfully.

Katara continued watching him, it looked like he was just a father watching his children but there was something not quite right. Why had he been watching her so intently?

"Hey Kat," Aang said, seeing that she seemed to be in a daze. He walked up and waved his hands in front of her face, "Kat?"

Katara shook her head, coming out of her trance, and turned her head towards Aang.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Um, yeah…I just…," Katara drew off, looking back to where she had seen the man. He was gone though, and so were the kids. _He must have left…_

Aang looked at her curiously and followed her gaze, only seeing a tree on the other side of the park.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There was a man there," Katara said, not moving her gaze, "I think he was watching us."

"This is a family park," Aang said, "He was probably just interested in the waterbending."

"I don't know," Katara bit her lip, "It seemed odd. It was unsettling."

Aang turned his gaze away from the tree to look at her for a few moments. Ever since he realized that she was right all those weeks ago about going to Ba Sing Se sooner, he promised himself that he wouldn't ignore those feelings that she would get about some things. If she thought that there was something wrong, then he felt the need to agree with her. Still though, there was nothing they could really do about it now.

"Well, he's gone now. There's nothing else we can do," Aang told her, voicing his thoughts.

Katara nodded, "Yeah…you're right."

However, Aang could tell that she was a bit lost in thought about, "You know, I know just the thing that could take you mind off of that."

"Oh?" Katara raised her eyebrows at him, seeing him gazing at her meaningfully with a smirk on his face. She quickly realized what he was suggesting and without saying anything she grabbed his hand and led him out of the park.

He followed her wordlessly, letting her bring him into an empty alleyway as he found himself pressed up against the wall roughly, her lips crashing down onto his. Though this was exactly what he had been suggesting to her, he was a little surprised at her sudden actions and it took his mind a few moments to catch up. Once he relaxed into her though, he wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling the soft material of her air nomad clothes that she was still wearing.

She placed her hands on his shoulders as she broke away from the kiss, trailing smaller kisses along his jaw and towards his ear, where she stopped to nibble on the lob gently. He let out a low moan, letting her know that he was enjoying her attentions as his one of his hands rested on the back of her neck in encouragement. She nibbled on the lobe one more time before trailing more kisses down to the crook of his neck, running her tongue along the skin there as his breathing quickened when she took some of the skin in her mouth and began to gently suck on him.

His breath hitched in his throat for a moment before he was able to control it as she continued her ministrations. Her hands moved down to his waist, travelling back up under his robes, and he shivered when he felt her hands run a long his bare stomach. His hand that had been resting on her neck tugged gently on her hair in a silent question, and Katara stopped sucking on his now sensitive skin, darting her tongue across it briefly, before moving her head back up to give him a deep kiss.

His hand moved from her hair to the side of her head, stroking her cheek with his thumb as her tongue plunged into his mouth and explored him. He gasped into her mouth when her hands moved up from his stomach to run along his firm chest. She teased him with gently touches, her fingers dancing delicately across him, her tongue stroking his, and he was forced to let out a moan that he had been trying to hold back.

Her hands pressed against his chest more firmly in response as her body moved closer to him, one of his hands running down to rub the side of her hip. He hissed in pleasure when she teasingly stroked her fingernails against his skin before her mouth broke away from his to allow her to look into his eyes lovingly.

She smiled when she saw that his eyes were a little clouded over from her attentions and she leaned in to whisper into his ear, "Now you know how I feel."

He couldn't help but let out a small laugh and he felt her laugh with him. If this was her payback for all the times he would drive her crazy, he wasn't going to complain. His arms moved to hold her tighter as her hands moved from his chest to his back, her mouth once again latching onto some skin on his neck, drawing some more moans from him.

One of her hands ran across the scar on his back lightly, drawing a shiver out of him. His scar had become a little more sensitive once it had all healed and it was something that Katara had found out soon after they started dating two years ago. However, if she was to rough there, it did cause him a little pain so she usually stayed away from it. She seemed to change her mind about that now though, for her hand ran across it again, drawing another shiver as he gasped her name.

She lifted up her head in concern, "I didn't hurt you did I?"

Aang quickly shook his head, breathing heavily as her hand resumed stroking the tender skin on his back. He grasped the back of her head; bringing her lips back to his.

She continued what she was doing for a few more minutes before she moved her hands out from under his robs to rest back on his shoulders as she broke her lips away from his; both of them gasping for some much needed air.

"I think you were right," Katara breathed out.

"About what," Aang gasped, a little more out of breath then she was.

"That did help me forget," Katara laughed.

Aang grinned at her, using air bending to control his breathing as they decided to remain in the alley way for several more minutes to calm themselves down; for they knew that walking through the crowded streets of the city in their current mindset probably wouldn't be the best idea.

It turned out they were right as Aang could hold himself back from kissing her again. However, this time it was Katara who found herself pinned up against the wall. She smiled and kissed him back, not minding that they probably wouldn't be heading back to their house until much later.

* * *

><p>While the day had been very relaxing for the couple, the next day was drastically different. The group had gotten used to being able to lounge around in the morning but today was an exception. They hurried to get out of bed and get dressed, knowing the Earth King's service would be taking place in a few hours.<p>

As he always did for public gatherings, Aang wore his Avatar robes. Katara and Sokka wore their traditional watertribe outfits since they felt they needed to represent their tribe. Suki decided to follow their example and wore an outfit that represented Kyoshi Island.

Once they were all dressed, the group left their house and walked towards the palace. It took them several minutes as the streets were very crowded, probably because people were also heading to the palace for the service, but eventually the four friends finally were able to see the palace looming before them. As they came to the entrance, the pair of soldiers standing guard recognized them and motioned for them to come through. Together, they walked through the palace halls, occasionally passing some servants along the way, until they reached the throne room. When they walked in, they quickly spotted General Howe talking to a small group of people. However, upon seeing them, the General excused himself and walked over to Aang and his friends.

"You're right on time," he said, "We'll be starting in an hour."

"Is there anything we can do to help set up?" Aang asked.

Howe shook his head, "We have everything taken care of. Just feel free to mingle around for now. I must go back and talk to the palace security," he said, pointing to the group that he had been talking to moments ago, "I'll see you all when the service starts."

They bowed to each other before Howe turned around and walked back over to where he had been earlier and Aang and the rest of the group left the throne room. Since they couldn't think of much else to do, they just walked through the palace curiously. They had never gotten a good chance to explore all of it; so needless to say, there were many areas they were unfamiliar with.

After perhaps half an hour of walking they came across a closed off hallway. A big wall of earth extended from the bottom to the top of one the hallway, blocking any sight as to what was on the other side.

"I wonder why this place is blocked off," Suki wondered aloud.

"I don't know but we could find out," Sokka said, tilting his head towards Aang, "Earthbend the wall down Mister Avatar."

"I don't know Sokka," Aang said unsurely, "It must be blocked off for a reason; I think we should respect that."

"Besides," Katara added, "Howe is allowing us to walk around freely. I don't think he would appreciate it much if we went someplace off limits."

Sokka snorted, "You would side with him."

"That hallway leads to the late Earth King's bedchamber."

The group turned around in surprise upon hearing the voice, relaxing when realized it was just another Earth Kingdom soldier walking over to them.

"I'm sorry to startle you," he bowed, "I am Captain Qin. I am in charge of the palace security for the day per General Howe's request."

The group exchanged glances before they collectively bowed back in return.

"So you said this hallway leads to the Earth King's bedroom?" Sokka asked.

"Correct," Qin nodded, "As you can see the place is off limits. We don't want anyone messing with anything in there in case we find some evidence as to who did this. I'm sure you understand."

"We do," Katara assured, before glaring at Sokka, "It's just that some of us can't help but snoop around."

Sokka crossed his arms defensively but otherwise ignoring his sister as Qin spoke up.

"Anyways," he said, "General Howe asked me to come find you. The service is about to start so if you could follow me back to the throne room…"

He turned around and began walking, the rest of the group following closely behind him. Once they reached the throne room Howe greeted them again. The group also took note that the other Generals comprising of the Council of Five were also present.

"As I said yesterday," Howe explained to them as they walked towards the front of the palace together, "None of you have to make speeches. I just feel it would be good to have the world's heroes in sight to assure people."

The group nodded in acknowledgment and a few minutes later they exited the front of the palace and were greeted by a crowd of at least a few hundred people; all gathered in the courtyard before them.

The group comprising of Team Avatar and the Council of Five walked forward a few dozen steps before Howe motioned them to stop. He bent the earth beneath them, forming a small stage that elevated the group about the crowd; who cheered upon seeing the Avatar. Howe allowed the cheers to go on for the next few minutes before he rose one of his hands up in a request for silence. It took a couple of moments but the cheers eventually subsided and Howe began the speech he prepared a few seconds later.

Katara didn't really pay attention to it though as she and her friends looked out of the hundreds of people in front of them. She knew what he would be saying in the speech. He would probably start by saying what a great king Kuei was and speak highly of his accomplishments. Then he would probably go on to assure people that they were safe and they had nothing to fear.

Besides, she wasn't used to being in front of large crowds like this and even if she wanted to focus on the speech, she would be unable to. She became a little subconscious and she shifted her feet nervously from the feeling. She could feel that Aang was in a similar predicament. Despite being the Avatar, he had never quite gotten use to being the center of attention. She looked at the young airbender next to her and scooted a little closer to him, discreetly taking his hand in hers, and she was rewarded with a small smile from him. Luckily his Avatar robes covered their linked hands so the crowd couldn't see.

Feeling slightly comforted, Katara and Aang once again looked back over the crowd as Howe continued his speech...

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to them, Tau and his two companions were also attending the service. They stood in the very back corners of the crowd, out of site from everyone except for the people standing on the stage, and even then, they were a little too far back to be seen clearly.<p>

Tau looked over the people on stage, his lips quirking in amusement when he saw the young couple that he had seen in the middle ring's park the day before. He had of course realized that the couple he had been watching included the Avatar but that wasn't what caught his attention. Yesterday, the one that made him curious of the couple as they practiced their waterbendering, was the girl.

_Katara, _he reminded himself. He could also spot her brother who he remembered as Sokka but then there was a fourth person in their group. Someone he didn't recognize.

He nudged Ryu's shoulder, drawing the Earthbender's attention.

"Do you know who that is?" Tau asked, "Not the girl wearing the watertribe outfit but the other one."

Ryu nodded, "If I remember correctly her name is Suki. She's the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors last time I heard."

"How do you know that?" Sorin looked at him curiously.

"Princess Azula used the Kyoshi Warrior uniforms to infiltrate this city years ago," Ryu explained, "The Dai Li allied with her and it didn't take us long to find out that she had stolen the uniforms. I figured out the name of the true owner's later…I don't know who the other two people are though. I recognize the Avatar…"

"The other two are Katara and Sokka," Tau interrupted.

"You've met them before?" Sorin questioned and he saw a hint of recognition flash across Tau's eyes and the firebender knew he was right.

Tau didn't answer though, instead he changed the subject, "The Avatar didn't come alone though, which means we will have to find some other way to deal with him."

"You have something I mind?" Ryu guessed.

"I always do don't I?" Tau smiled.

"So what's the plan then?" Sorin asked.

"Well we're going to need to find a way to get out of the city as well," Tau started, "Sorin, go and rent a carriage for us to use. We'll need it to get out."

The firebender looked at Tau curiously but chose not to question it and he just simply nodded as Tau handed him a few gold coins from his pocket.

"Ryu," Tau said, turning to the Earth Bender, "Come with me back to the inn. It's time to leave the city and I need your help writing a letter to the Earth Kingdom government."

"A letter?" Ryu raised his eyebrows.

"Just trust me," Tau smiled.

"We can't leave the city yet though," Sorin said, "We don't have the Avatar."

"I know," Tau responded, "You don't need to worry about that. We will get what we need before we leave the city. Just go get the carriage and meet Ryu and I at the front of Ming's inn in a few hours."

Sorin nodded, turning to leave to do what Tau asked of him. Once Sorin left, Tau gave Katara, who was still standing on the podium with the rest of her friends, one last glace before turning around as he and Ryu walked back to the inn just as Howe finished his speech.

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><p>A couple of hours later, after Ryu had written the letter that Tau wanted him to, they had their things packed and gathered by the front of Ming's Inn. Ryu and Sorin were currently moving them into the carriage parked on the street that Sorin was able to get. It was a small enclosed carriage but they only needed it to get out of the city so it would do. Two ostrich horses stood in front of it, straps around them to allow them to pull the carriage along when they needed to.<p>

While they were loading the group's bags, Tau was inside paying Ming the money that they owed her for staying in her inn. Ming took the bag that Tau handed to her and looked inside, gasping when she saw dozen's of gold pieces.

"Tau this is three times more then what you own me," Ming looked up at him in surprise.

He had his arms crossed, expecting her to have that reaction, "I know," he said simply.

"As much as I'd like to, I can't accept this," Ming shook her head, taking some of the gold pieces out to hand them back to Tau but she was stopped when he walked over and placed his hand over hers, moving her hand to set the coins back in the bag.

"Ming, take it," he said gently, "We have plenty more money and this is the least I could do after all of your help."

"But…" Ming started but she was interrupted by him.

"No buts, just take it okay?" he looked at her sternly.

"Why?" Ming asked, moving the bag to hang at her side, "Why are you doing this? I don't deserve this much…"

"Think of it as a thank you," Tau replied, smiling at her, "You have helped us more than you think you did and I can think of no other way to repay for it. Besides, you could use the money…to take care of Zi."

As if on cue, the young boy barged through the front door and ran over to his mom's side.

"Mom, I saw Ryu and Sorin packing…is Tau leaving?" he asked.

Ming looked down at her son, "He is Zi. His job is taking him to another place now."

Zi pouted, having grown accustomed to Tau during the month he had been at his mother's inn, and smiled at him sadly, "I'll miss you."

Tau smiled back, walking over to kneel next to the boy, "I'll miss you to," he said, while he ruffled the boys dark hair playfully, drawing a laugh from him.

Ming watched him as he stood up and turned to walk out the door. Like Zi, she had grown accustomed to him. Sure, she had always formed friendships with people staying at her inn but Tau was different. For some reason, she was a little sad to see him go and she felt a few tears prickle her eyes as she blurted out, "Will you come back?"

Tau turned around, surprised at the question she asked but nonetheless thought about it before answering. Could he come back? He would certainly like to but with the things that could happen to him later in this hunt for the spirits…he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to return. As he had felt a lot during the past couple of weeks, he felt a wave of sadness wash over him at the thought of not seeing her again. He hated the feeling and he wasn't sure what to make of it. What does that say about him if he was worried about not seeing her in the future? It was a feeling that he had never really felt before.

"I don't know," he answered a little sadly but as truthfully as he could, "But I would like too."

Ming nodded slowly in acceptance of the answer, "Well then, goodbye…for now at least."

"Goodbye," Tau said back, turning to walk out the front door to see Ryu and Sorin waiting for them.

"Ready?" Sorin asked.

Tau nodded, opening the doors to the carriage, "Ryu you drive."

"Where are we going?" Ryu asked, "Where not quite ready to leave yet…"

"I know," Tau said, "Take us to the upper ring and we'll find a place to rest until nightfall."

Ryu nodded, not bothering to question why they would wait in the upper ring and climbed onto the front seat on the outer part of the carriage. He took the reins of the ostrich horses as Tau and Sorin climbed inside. Once he saw they were situated, he motioned for the ostrich horses to go and they trotted forward.

Tau took one last look at Ming's inn, seeing her and Zi standing in the doorway, watching them leave. He breathed in a deep sigh before relaxing back in the seats, ignoring the odd look that Sorin gave him.

* * *

><p>Aang and Katara walked through the palace garden hand in hand. It had been a few hours since the Earth King's service had finished and they just decided to explore for the rest of the day. It was dusk, the sun was setting which gave the sky an eerie glow but at the same time, it looked beautiful. They had been walking through the garden for several minutes, just looking at the different flowers and simply enjoying the peacefulness that the space brought. Aang had even picked a bluish flower and had tucked it into Katara's hair which had earned him a nice kiss on the cheek and a smile from his girlfriend.<p>

_Soul mate, _he reminded himself. At this point, he wasn't quite sure if the word girlfriend was the best way to describe what she meant to him. They were so much more than that; at least that was what it seemed like to him. As if she could tell exactly what he was thinking, perhaps with their connection she could, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze and halted their walking to turn and embrace him.

"You know," she whispered into his ear, her lips brushing the lobe gently, drawing a shiver from him, "I feel that 'boyfriend' isn't quite the right way to describe you either."

Aang's eyes widened in shock; surprised that she actually knew exactly what he had been thinking and returned her embrace, "How did you know?"

She shrugged in his arms, "I don't know. I just felt as if I was reading your thoughts,  
>she explained softly, "Lucky guess I suppose."<p>

"Maybe it wasn't so lucky after all," Aang said, nuzzling her neck affectionately, "Maybe our connection…"

He had stopped talking mid-sentence, but Katara knew what he was going to say and she smiled, "That would be wonderful."

"You think so?" Aang asked anxiously, pulling away from her to look her in the eyes.

She met his gaze, her eyes seeming to sparkle with joy, "I know so."

He laughed a little, pulling her back into a tight embrace, happy to know of how accepting she was of what had been coming out of their bond. He couldn't help but feel lucky that she was with him, that she had always been with him no matter what. She had no reason to risk herself for him like she had done so many times during the war. She wasn't the Avatar, he was, she didn't have to do anything but yet…she did. She had followed him wherever he went and if he didn't know any better, he could easily see her being an Avatar. She was determined, brave, compassionate, and she helped anyone that she could. For all intents and purposes, she was his savior.

He sighed in contentment, feeling her hands run up and down his back slowly.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he said meaningfully, his voice filled with adoration for her.

He felt her smile against his neck before she planted a few kisses there, "You're not too bad either," she said in between kisses.

Aang rolled his eyes in response, pulling his head back to allow her lips to meet his. He kissed her slowly, trying to pour out his love and affection for her in the kiss, their arms tightening around one another.

Katara felt her heart melt, feeling all of the things he felt about her either through his physical actions or through the bond they shared. She couldn't help but let a few tears of joy fall down her face causing Aang to break away to slowly wipe the tears away with his thumb.

She closed her eyes upon feeling his soft touch against her, her mouth muttering his name quietly. He smiled, resting is forehead against hers, letting their breaths mingle before she leaned back into him to kiss him with the same amount of passion that he had given her moments ago.

However, that kiss was not meant to last as they heard Sokka call each of their names from the other side of the garden. They broke away, each sighing in frustration.

"He always has to come at the worst times," Katara muttered before yelling towards where Sokka was, "Way to ruin the moment Sokka!"

"Oh, I'll ruin whatever moment I want to ruin!" he yelled back, "Get over here, I need to talk to you guys!"

Aang and Katara exchanged quick glances before walking around a big hedge that had blocked them from Sokka's view and the saw him waiting for them with his arms crossed.

"Aang, General Howe wants to speak with you," Sokka said once the couple walked up to him.

"Why?" Aang asked.

"I don't know," Sokka shrugged, "He wanted to speak with Suki to. She's already in the throne room talking to him. Katara, I was thinking that you and I would head back to the house in the meantime. Its dark and we haven't eaten dinner yet."

"That's a good idea," Aang said, adding in reassurance when he felt Katara unsure about the idea, "I can tell you what he wanted to talk about when Suki and I get back okay?"

Katara nodded after a few moments, "Okay, I'll see you back at the house then."

Aang smiled, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, much to Sokka's displeasure, and turned to walk into the palace, leaving his other two companions to walk back to the house.

It didn't take him long to reach the throne room, having already been their many times today, and when he walked in he saw Suki and General Howe in the far back area of the room next to the throne, talking.

"I gave up my leadership to the Kyoshi Warriors before a came here," he heard Suki say, "I can't make any promises but I can write a letter asking them to come if you'd like."

"Wait what's going on?" Aang asked as he walked up to the two.

"I was wondering if Suki would be willing to have the Kysohi Warriors come here and help with the security for the next few weeks during the meetings that will be starting in ten days, "Howe explained, "Soldiers are fine guards but I'd rather have a group that is a little more…discrete."

"And I said that I would send them a letter asking them," Suki said, "I am not the leader anymore but I think they would come if I was the one to request it."

"Anyways, we finished talking about that," said Howe, "I just have something quick to request of you and then you can go back to your home."

"What is it?" Aang asked politely.

"Whatever your plans are in the next couple of weeks, I need to ask you to stay in the city for the meetings," Howe said, "I know the nations don't usually request you to have to attend meetings. You're supposed to keep peace, not play a politician, but just this once I am going to have to ask that of you."

"Of course," Aang nodded, "The meeting is about catching Kuei's murderers and stabilizing Ba Sing Se. It would be wise of me to attend…I feel part of it's my fault anyway."

"It's not Aang…" Suki started but drew off when Howe looked like he was going to speak.

"You're not to blame," Howe said, "The palace security was not as strong as it should be. We got lazy and thought that we were safe during times of peace and we were wrong. You and your friends can attend the meetings and we will sort everything out."

Aang nodded, still feeling slightly guilty, "We'll be there."

* * *

><p>"You know for some reason this walk seems to be taking a lot longer than is should be," Sokka whined.<p>

"Sokka it's taking the same amount of time," Katara sighed as they walked through the streets of the city with only the moonlight to guide them. The streets were empty, everyone had turned in for the night, and that her and her brother alone, "It probably just seems like its taking longer because we are the only ones out here."

"I have to agree with you there," Sokka responded, "Is it just me or is this a little creepy?"

"It's just you," Katara smiled at him teasingly, "What? Are you afraid of the dark?"

"No," he rolled his eyes at her exasperated, "I just think there is something unsettling about walking through empty streets while we are in the largest city in the world."

"Well it is almost an hour till midnight," Katara told him, "It's our fault for heading home late."

Sokka just grunted in response as they continued walking. Katara looked around for any shortcuts they could take and eventually she saw a dark alleyway that would bring them closer to their house. It would essentially cut off an entire street they would have to walk otherwise.

"If you want to get back faster, we could take a shortcut," Katara suggested.

Sokka turned to see her staring at a dark alley and shook his head, "There is no way we're doing that. I can't even see anything in there."

"Oh come on, you were the one that wanted to be home quicker lets go," she said, and before Sokka could reply she ran forward laughing about her beating him home.

Sokka shook his head at her, laughing to himself that she could still act playful sometimes; _I guess I have Aang to thank for that._

"Okay, fine, just wait for me," he called out to her as she disappeared into the alley.

Katara did what he asked laughing a little as she slowed to a walking pace. She waited in the dark alley, hearing his footsteps coming towards her.

"Okay," she heard him say, "Just let me catch up to you an-"

Upon hearing his voice suddenly stop she turned to head towards the entrance of the alley in concern. She waited a few moments for him to come around the corner to join her but when he didn't, she slowly began walking back the way she came.

"Sokka?" She spoke his name questionably, stepping out of the alley and turning to see her brother lying face down on the street, "Sokka!"

She ran forward to him but stopped when she heard something land on the ground behind her.

"Now, what is a young girl like you doing out alone this late at night?"

She turned around towards the sound of the voice to see a man standing about a dozen feet away from her, with his arms crossed. She looked closely and she felt like she had seen him before and her eyes widened.

_The park, _she realized, _it's the same guy._

He stepped a little closer to her and she could see that a pair of blue eyes met her own under the moonlight.

"Who are you?" she said, keeping her voice strong although she took a few cautious steps back.

The man smiled and took a few steps forward, "You mean you don't remember me?"

Katara shook her head and turned to escape towards the alleyway, knowing that this man was trouble. However as she began to walk back into the alley she saw another man with golden eyes walking down it towards her. She gasped and backed into the street away from the two men, being carefully not to step on her brother's body that was still lying prone on the ground.

"I'll admit that it's a shame that we have to meet again this way Katara," the blue eyed man said hauntingly.

Katara's eyes widened, her heart thundering in her chest, realizing that these had to be the men that murdered Kuei and that had attacked Omashu, "H-how do you know my name?" her voice quivered.

"I know a lot about you," the man said calmly as him and his gold eyed companion took a few steps closer to her.

She drew some water from the air, ready to defend herself but that only brought small smiles from the two men.

"It's not us that you should be worried about," the man with blue eyes said as she saw him look at something behind her.

Curiously, Katara turned around to see what he was looking at only to be met with a third man's fist heading straight towards her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay um...I'll be honest, I have never liked the idea of Katara being captured. To many fics degrade her character by routinely having her be captured, hurt, weak, etc. Essentially she always seems to be degraded to a damsel in distress. However, logically, this is what makes more sense for this fic. Why it makes more since will be more apparent next chapter but trust me, I wouldn't be doing it otherwise. Consequently, don't expect this captrue of her to last very long either. Hopefully, the end of this chapter made it seem like she was caught by surprise instead of her being weak; because she is NOT weak, that should be common knowledge for anyone that watches the show.<strong>

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this relatively long chapter and don't forget to review.;)**


	19. Tau's Story

**I still don't own Avatar**

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><p>Sokka blinked rapidly as he regained consciousness, trying to sit up only to have a hand push him back down onto a soft bed. Everything was a blur to him as his eyes tried to take in his surroundings. The only thing that he could even see looked like a green blob with some white mixed into it.<p>

However, once his vision cleared, he saw the blob was actually Suki staring right back at him, one of her hands placed on his chest to hold him down.

"Relax Sokka," she told him, "take it easy."

"Ugh, what happened?" he tried to sit back up and this time, Suki helped him instead of pushing him back down.

"We don't know," she answered, "Aang and I found you unconscious in the streets last night."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sokka grumbled, looking around to find that he was in his bedroom, "how did I get here then?"

Suki scoffed at him, "We carried you back genius."

"Oh right, of course," Sokka laughed self-consciously, his hand coming up to the back of his head, feeling a large bump there. He winced a little when his hand ran across it.

"Someone must have it you in the back of the head," Suki explained, reaching around him to grab his hand, stopping him from touching the tender skin.

"Who?" Sokka asked.

"It has to be the same guys we've been going after," another familiar voice said.

Sokka turned around to see Aang sitting on the window sill with a small letter in his hands. Upon seeing him though, a wave of worry hit Sokka for the airbender looked back at him sadly, looking like he was trying to hold back tears.

"Where's Katara?" Sokka asked nervously, his heart aching with more worry when Aang turned around to look out the window and into the bright sky in response.

Seeing that Aang wasn't going to answer, Suki answered for him, taking Sokka's hand in hers for his own comfort to the news she was about to break to him, "She wasn't there with you. They took her."

"What?" Sokka's eyes widened and he shook his head stubbornly, "No…no they couldn't have taken her. Maybe she just ran away…"

"I'm sorry Sokka," Suki squeezed his hand tighter.

He looked over to Aang for an answer and the airbender looked back at him, a couple of tears finally dripping from his eyes.

"It's true," he choked out, waving the letter that he had in front of him, "It's all explained here. We found this laying on top of you last night."

"They want Aang to meet them at their airship today, just a few hours from now," Suki continued before adding a little solemnly, "And if he doesn't they'll…they said they'll kill her."

"Well then we have to go and get her back," Sokka said desperately, "If we only have a few hours…"

"They want me to come alone," Aang interrupted, gripping the letter tightly in his hands, causing the paper to crinkle a little, "They said if I bring any one else with me they'll kill Katara anyway, whether we get there on time or not. I can't even bring Appa…"

Sokka remained quiet for a few moments before speaking up again, "Let me see the letter."

Aang nodded and walked over to him, handing him the small piece of paper before taking a seat next to his friend. He and Suki stayed silent for a few minutes to allow Sokka to read it.

"It looks like this is only part of the letter," Sokka observed after he read it, "The paper is ripped in half…where is second part?"

Suki shook her head, "we have no idea but that paper alone tells us enough."

"Well what are we going to do?" Sokka questioned letting the piece paper fall from his hands and onto the floor, "Are we just going to give into what these guys are asking?"

Suki and Aang exchanged glances before the ex-Kyoshi Warrior spoke up, "We don't really have any other choice."

"Sure we do," Sokka argued, "We just can't have Aang go there alone. It could only make things worse."

"Sokka," Aang started, causing the older boy to look at him, "Things are already worse. You saw what they did in Omashu and then they killed Kuei. Whatever these guys want they have proven that they will do anything to get it," Aang took a deep breath and forced the next words out, "They'll kill Katara to if they have to. If we want her alive, we have to do what they say."

Sokka shook his head, "What makes you think they won't kill her anyway?"

Aang opened his mouth about to speak only to hang his head down afterwards, not knowing the answer to Sokka's question.

"We don't know what they'll do to her," Suki spoke up, "but if we don't listen to them, they will kill her for sure."

Sokka hung his head, mimicking Aang's position, knowing that Suki was right, "Where is their airship at?" Sokka asked Aang quietly.

"It hovering above the Serpents Pass," Aang answered standing up, "It will only take me ten or fifteen minutes to get there…I need to leave now."

"Wait," Sokka said, following Aang as he walked out of the bedroom and into the main room of the house, "We at least need to come up with a plan to get you and Katara out of there when you get her."

"I'll take my bison whistle," Aang answered simply, pulling the object of his robe pocket briefly before putting it back in, "You and Suki just wait next to Appa. Then once I can save Katara, I will call you guys there and we can escape."

"I don't think these guys are going to make it that easy," Suki stated.

"Well it's the only thing we can do without risking them killing Katara," Aang responded, walking over to grab his staff that was leaning against a wall near the front door, "Just go wait by Appa, I should be able to call you guys in a few hours but whatever you, don't come unless I say so.

"Okay," Sokka nodded, knowing that they didn't have much of a choice, "Just go get my sister Aang."

"I will," the Avatar answered determinedly, opening the front door, as well as his glider, before he shot up into the skies.

Sokka and Suki watched him go until he just appeared as a black dot in the sky, praying that their friend would be okay.

"Do you think he'll be able to get her?" Suki asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Sokka murmured in response, taking a deep breath as he felt a few tears prickle his eyes out of worry for his sister, "But I hope so."

* * *

><p>Tau walked down the halls of the airship towards where Ryu should be with the young watertribe girl they had captured the night before. After a few minutes of walking through the mazelike corridors he finally came to the room where they should be and sure enough, there they were. He walked in just as Ryu was putting a few things into a bag. Tau couldn't see what the things were but he assumed it had something to do with what he had asked for Ryu to do a few hours ago.<p>

"Finished?" Tau asked

The earthbender turned to him, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he walked up to his leader, "Yeah, it's all done."

"How is she?"Tau asked glancing briefly at the young Waterbender lying on a metal table behind his friend.

"She's fine," Ryu assured, walking out of the room, "she's just unconscious for the time being. She should be up in a few minutes."

Tau nodded in approval as Ryu disappeared into the hallway, leaving him alone in the small room with the unconscious Waterbender. Tau closed the door to the room before turning back to study her for a few moments.

She was lying with her back down on the metal table, arms outstretched as they were strapped down by tight ropes that were tied to the legs of the table closest to her head. Those were the only things holding her down though. Her legs were free to move and besides the bruise on her right cheek where Ryu had knocked her out last night, she was unharmed.

Satisfied with her condition, Tau turned his attention to the window to see if he could spot the Avatar coming towards them. Part of Tau wondered if the girl in their custody meant enough to the Avatar to make him come to them on their own demands. Judging by what he saw at the park a few days before, he would think she would. Then again, this is the Avatar he was thinking about. Wouldn't anyone be expendable to him if it was in the best interest of the rest of the world? Hopefully, the Avatar cared about the Waterbender as much as Tau hoped he did. Their plans depended on it.

The rest of Tau's thoughts were interrupted however when he heard the Waterbender stir, hearing a couple groans come from her direction and he turned his head towards her to see her glancing around the room, her eyes finally resting on him.

She glared at him and tried to sit up only to find out that she was strapped down. Tau was silent as she struggled to free herself for the next few moments before she simply just gave up, lying back down on the table, still glaring at him with those blue eyes of hers.

"You don't have to struggle," Tau told her once she calmed down, "You're not going to be hurt."

The girl snorted, "Right, like I'm going to believe you."

"You should," Tau shrugged, "The only reason that we would have to hurt you is if the Avatar doesn't comply with our demands. Tell me, does he care about you enough to do what is necessary to free you or would he just leave you to rot here?"

She stayed silent and looked away from him, refusing to answer.

"I think he cares about you enough, judging by what I saw at the park the other day," Tau continued, smiling at her, "I'm willing to bet that he gave you that ring to."

Katara glanced at the ring in question that was still being worn on her left hand, the ring that she never took off. She turned her head back to glare at the man in front of her, venom in her voice, "What does it matter to you?"

"Just curious," he shrugged, "Seeing that the watertribe costumes require a man to give his love a betrothal necklace, I'm going to assume that you two aren't engaged yet…though that ring may be a promise for things to come perhaps?"

She didn't answer, but when he saw a light blush rise to her cheeks he knew there was some truth to what he had said.

"In that case," Tau spoke up again, "I would think that he would move with all haste to come and save you, yes?"

"And when he does you'll regret this and everything else you have done," she scowled at him.

Tau gave out a short laugh before smirking at her, "Trust me; I know that I, nor my companions, stand a chance against the all powerful Avatar. It's why we brought you here…to even things out. He wouldn't dare try anything stupid knowing that we could harm you whenever we pleased."

"Whatever happened to not hurting me?" she grunted, "or did you forget about saying that already?"

"If the Avatar cooperates, no harm will come to you," Tau assured, walking over to lean against a countertop to the right of the table, her eye's following him as he moved, "Whether you are hurt or not is all up to him. As long as he does what I tell him to you'll be fine."

"So…what? I'm just a way for you to get him to obey you," Katara spat at him, "How brave. Three grown men ambushing a seventeen year old girl at night; what did you have to do, spend the daylight hours gathering up the courage to do it?"

Tau let out a small smile, amused by her remark, but he ignored all of it except for one thing, "So you're seventeen now? I figured you would be somewhere around that age."

She snorted, "How would you know?"

"I know a lot about you Katara," Tau said, seeing her eyes widen when she heard him say her name, "I meant what I said last night. It really is a shame that we had to meet again this way."

Katara rolled her eyes, "So is this where you get all vague on me?"

"No," Tau shook his head, letting out another smile, "I'll be very upfront with you. My name is Tau, and if my blue eyes haven't given it away by now, I am from the Watertribes. More specifically, the Southern Tribe."

Katara's eyes widened, he voice finally losing its venomous tone to confusion, "But…you're a waterbender. Before me the last Waterbender at the South Pole was a woman named Hama…"

"She was the last one people knew of," Tau interrupted her, walking over to the window to gaze out into the skies as he continued, "It was common knowledge that the Fire Nation was wiping out all of the waterbenders in the Southern Tribe. Being a Waterbender only brought chaos to our people. I knew this; my parents would tell me stories when I was young. So, when I was about six and I discovered I was a Waterbender, I kept it a secret. I had found out on my own when I was in my bedroom one day, alone, with no one there to see it…so keeping it a secret was easy as long as I kept my mouth shut about it."

Tau looked back at Katara, seeing her looking back at him curiously, though anger still filled her eyes.

"I felt like that was what I needed to do," he continued, "If word got out that I was a Waterbender, there was risk that the Fire Nation would find out and they would return to raid us again…and I couldn't bring myself to risk that. I was young but I knew the dangers. Being a Waterbender wasn't a gift…it was a curse."

"No its not," Katara spoke up for the first time in a while, "Waterbending is a gift. It's something that brought our tribe hope."

"Only to have that hope taken away when the Fire Nation attacked again," Tau countered, "The fact of the matter is, Waterbenders only brought sorrow to our tribe in the end so I never spoke of my abilities. Instead, I practiced alone, outside of the village for hours each day. I spent years hiding what I was learning and eventually I became strong enough that I didn't even need a source of water anymore for my waterbending to be affective…"

"You could just pull waves of water from the air right?" Katara guessed, remembering what Zuko had told her, _I guess Aang was right about him just being a really strong bender._

Tau smiled and nodded before continuing where he had left off, "Of course I had no one to compare my abilities to but I knew that I was able to do something few Waterbender were able to. I only wish that I could have shared it with the rest of the tribe but I continued to force myself to keep it a secret. I knew I couldn't risk our tribe's safety. The Fire Nation hadn't come back in years and I wasn't going to be the one to bring them back…and then you came along."

Katara's head instantly perked up when he mentioned her.

Tau shook his head in disgust as he looked back out the window, "You showed your first waterbending at only four years of age and your dad, being the chief, let the whole tribe know. You were the center of attention, people praised you…some practically even worshiped you. Right then though, all of my years of trying to keep my abilities a secret went in vein. It had proven worthless," Tau narrowed his eyes a little bitterly, "While I kept my abilities secret for the good of the tribe, so much that not even my own parents knew, you were just going around and showing your bending off without hesitation and people encouraged it…I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me jealous. I was eighteen at the time, I had kept my secret for twelve years and then you made all of it worth nothing."

"Well what you did was your choice," Katara countered, "You can't possibly be blaming me for your problems."

"Oh, I'm not blaming you," Tau glanced briefly at her, "That wasn't even the start of my problems. You see a few months later, your father decided to go and help fight in the war. I went along with him, and that proved to be the biggest mistake in my life."

Tau paused and Katara was suddenly reminded about her dad telling her during her and Aang's anniversary a few months ago how he had left to fight in the war when she was four. Whatever this man was talking about, it had to be the same thing that her dad had told her, but then why would that be a mistake?

"If you went with my dad though then you would have had the chance to finally reveal your abilities," Katara questioned, "That would be good right?"

"That's what I thought too," Tau snorted, "and for a time that is exactly what happened. Your father was surprised at first when I showed him what I could do but in the coming months, I became his ace in the hole. We went from village to village and sometimes, the rest of the watertribe warriors wouldn't even have to fight…I would just go in and take out the small group of firebenders myself. My waterbending far outmatched their bending and at first it was a blessing to out tribes warriors but later on, it proved to be my downfall."

Tau paused for a couple moments before continuing, his voice taking on a slightly bitter tone, "There was one city we came across, Honlu, and the only way to get into it was by crossing a massive bridge and the Fire Nation was closing in on it. We knew we couldn't' win, so your father decided the city needed to be evacuated and he ordered me to take a few Earthbenders to hold the Fire Nation at the bridge for as long as we could. He assured me that he would come back to get us out once the city was emptied. Unfortunately, that never happened. The Earthbenders and I held the Fire Nation off for hours, I began thinking that your father was having trouble evacuating the city but later on, after the Fire Nation overran the city and captured me…I learned that the city had been completely evacuated a couple hours before my capture. "

"But…my dad said he would come back for you," Katara stated, a little shocked.

"Saying things and doing them are two different things," Tau snorted and turned back to her angrily, "Turns out, your father simply believed it was too risky to come back and get me and the Earthbender's. He and the other watertribe warriors retreated with the rest of the city. He left me behind and for the next DECADE, I was a Fire Nation prisoner, forced to endure whatever torture they decided to do. And trust me, they tortured prisoners whenever they got bored, and they were bored rather often."

Tau finally stopped speaking; his hands had clenched to fists as the memories came back to him.

"No," Katara shook her head after a few moments, "My father wouldn't have just left you behind like that. There has to be another reason for what happened. My dad's very brave…"

"Your father's a coward," Tau spat out suddenly, "He ran away to save his own skin and there is nothing more to it. Whatever you think he is just comes from him deceiving you."

"That's not true!" Katara argued, "You don't have the whole story."

"Sure I do," Tau answered, "When me and the Earthbenders were captured, the Fire Nation General told us how the watertribe warriors were seen fleeing the city hours ago. Your father decided that his own life was more important and that I was just expendable despite all that I had done to help him in months before the Battle of Honlu…and when I had the chance, I made sure he paid for what he did."

Katara suddenly felt a chill run up her spine for Tau's eyes had darkened hauntingly, "W-what do you mean?"

"A year or two after my capture, I was to be transported to a prison that was more secure than the one I had been in," Tau started, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, staring at her with a mixture of emotions, "The group that was doing the transporting was called the Southern Raiders and they had ordered me to hand over any possessions I still had."

Katara eyes widened upon him mentioning the Southern Raiders and she saw his hand creep up to grasp and necklace that he had around his neck.

"This necklace is my most prized possession. It was passed down from my family directly from Avatar Kuruk," Tau heard Katara gasp slightly at the knowledge that he was descended from an Avatar before he continued, "I couldn't let them take it so I offer them a deal to let them keep my necklace in exchange for some information. They agreed and a few days later I met with the leader of the Southern Raiders."

"Yan Rah," Katara whispered, just quietly enough for him to hear her. She was beginning to connect the pieces and a sickening feeling formed in her stomach.

"Correct," Tau smiled, "he let me keep my necklace and I told him what I knew…which also happened to be the one thing I could do to get back at your father for his betrayal."

"W-what di-did you t-tell him," Katara voice quivered for she already knew the answer.

"That there was one last Waterbender in the Southern Watertribe," Tau said simply.

The two remained silent a few moments after before Katara finally lost it and attempted to lash out at him.

"You…you're the source that Yan Rah had!" she screamed as she pulled at the ropes holder her down, "how could you! You knew it was me! Why didn't you tell them that I was the Waterbender?"

"Because I wasn't sure what would hurt your father more; losing his wife or losing his daughter…so I held back that little piece of information," Tau smirked, not sympathetic in the least bit, "I knew your father wouldn't give himself up for you, his cowardice wouldn't allow it but your mother…she was respectable and I knew that if the Fire Nation returned she would be the only one in the tribe that would not give you up. I knew it would either be you or her that would be killed…the fact that you are wearing your mothers necklace and that you are still alive, I assume that your mother did sacrifice herself for you."

"You're a monster!" Katara yelled, continuing her struggle, "I swear to you, once I get out of here I'll…"

"Do what?" Tau interrupted, "Don't you get it by now. Everything you and your friends have done these past few months has been by my design."

Katara finally stopped struggling as he spoke, breathing heavily and glaring at him angrily as he continued.

"I let Fire Lord Zuko live so he could ask the Avatar to come to Omashu," he told her, "And then I killed Kuei to bring the Avatar to Ba Sing Se. I need his help with what I am trying to do and one way or another, I am going to get it."

"What is it you want?" Katara snorted at him.

"That doesn't concern you," Tau said simply.

"Well whatever it is, he won't help you!" she growled back, "And once he saves me, I'll make sure you pay for what you've done!"

"Good luck," Tau answered simply, before looking back out the window, "the Avatar has to play by my rules if he wants you returned unharmed and if a few minutes we'll find out just how much he cares about you."

Katara didn't say anything back, as she watched him look out the window with a smirk on his face.

The Avatar has arrived.

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><p><strong>Well, the only thing I have to say about this chapter is that Yan Rah's source had to come from somewhere and I don't think the Fire Nation had some spy living in the south pole to get that information. The source had to have come from someone that was from the tribe or at the very least, someone who had visited it.<strong>

**Anyway, read and review and the next chapter will be up Thursday.**


	20. Revelations

**Just FYI, this whole fic came from ideas that are in this chapter. This is pretty much where the idea for the fic began for me...**

**And I still don't own Avatar  
><strong>

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><p>There it was. After several minutes of flying, Aang was finally able to make out the airship that was hidden in a bunch of clouds high above the Serpent's Pass.<p>

_I hope Katara's okay…_

That thought had replayed in his mind ever since he had left the group's house in Ba Sing Se. On top of that, he was admittedly nervous about the whole thing. Not only was Katara's life in danger, but he had no idea what he was getting himself into. He was doing it for her though and whatever was going to happen in the next few minutes, he knew that he would not regret coming for her.

The airbender flew up to the underside catwalk where he landed and closed his glider. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously made he way through the door opening. The door itself was no longer there and Aang could only guess that it was the same door that had been knocked off its hinges when Zuko had fought the mysterious Waterbender weeks ago. Walking into the room, he could almost perfectly picture Zuko struggling to fend off the waves of water that had been sent at him in the same area where Aang was standing now. He looked up, seeing a walkway above him and he air bent himself up to it and looked back and forth as if deciding which way to go. Moments later however he heard a door open behind him and he quickly turned to see a man walking up to him, stopping once he was about a dozen feet away.

"Well you didn't disappointed Avatar," the man said, "You came just as I hoped you would."

Aang held his staff out in front of him defensively, ready for a fight, "Who are you?"

"My name is Tau," the man said, "And if you value your girlfriend's life then you'll drop that glider of yours right now."

Aang stared at him for a few moments in defiance before he reluctantly complied. He let go of his staff and it hit the metal floor with a loud _clang _that echoed throughout the room.

"Now," Tau started, "I'm not looking to fight you. I just have a simple request that I need you to do. Once you give me what I need you'll get Katara back and the two of you are free to go unharmed."

"Where is she?" Aang asked forcefully.

"She's here, and besides a small bruise on her face from last night, no harm has come to her," Tau assured, folding his hands behind his back, "However that will change if you don't cooperate."

"Cooperate with what?" Aang questioned.

"I need some information on an ancient group of spirits. Normally I wouldn't go through the trouble of getting the Avatar's help for something like this but the only other thing that has any information on what I need…is unreachable," Tau explained calmly, "What I need you to do, is go to the spirit world and find the information that I am looking for. It shouldn't be too hard…"

"There are plenty of books about the spirit world, you don't need my help," Aang responded.

"I don't think you quite understand," Tau said, "What I am looking for is ancient. The only other thing that even talks about the ancient spirits is a Journal written by one of your past lives. I am unable to obtain what I need from the journal though so all I have left is for you to find the information for me."

"Well forget it," Aang retorted, "You're not getting my help. Give me Katara back now!"

Tau smiled when he saw the Avatar raise his hands up in front of him as if he was going to attack him.

"You'll get your girlfriend back after you do as I asked," Tau said, not fazed by Aang's actions, "And I assure you, she is being looked after and if you so much as attempt to attack me she will be killed before you know it," he gathered some water from the air and held it out in front of him, "If you really want to fight me then go ahead but you are sentencing her to certain death by doing so."

Once again, Aang stood down after a few moments, knowing that Tau was serious. No matter what, Aang would not risk Katara's safety, she meant too much to him.

"Good," Tau smiled, evaporated his water back into the air, "Now are you going to do as I ask?"

Aang glared at him for a few moments before sighing, his body slouching, and answering meekly, "Yes."

Tau nodded, "Smart choice. Now I can't really tell you much more then I already have. All I know is that these Spirits are ancient. I don't know their names or where they reside in the spirit world."

"So what do you expect me to do then?" Aang asked bitterly, straightening again.

Tau shrugged, "Ask around. Find out what the spirits are and where they are located. I am sure you have plenty friends in the spirit world that would be happy to help. I don't care how you do it, just get it done and then you and I could go on our separate ways."

"If you think I am just going to let you go then you're crazy," Aang told him, "You attacked Omashu, you killed the Earth King, and now you threatened Katara. I won't just sit back and let you escape."

"I'm sure when the time comes you'll find that you won't have much of a choice but to let me go," Tau answered mysteriously causing a shiver to run down Aang's spine.

The young Avatar remained silent for a few moments before trying to bargain one more time, "Let me see Katara and then I'll do what you want."

"No," Tau answered simply, "You'll see her again once I decide to let you and that won't happen until I get what I want."

Aang glared at him but Tau just shrugged that off as he continued.

"I don't think you are getting what position you are in right now," he continued, "You're going to do exactly as I say or she will pay the price for your actions. You don't tell me what to do, I tell you."

Aang looked away from him, his hands clenching into fist as he answered through gritted teeth, "Just don't hurt her…and I'll do what you need."

"You have my word," Tau nodded, "Now you are free to roam the ship and do what you need to do in order to get into the spirit world. Find someplace comfortable, but remember if you try anything stupid…I will kill her."

Aang nodded a little reluctantly as Tau turned around to walk back through the door that he came in, leaving Aang alone on the walkway.

The airbender sighed, leaning down to pick his staff back up and reaching his hand into his robe to make sure he still had the his bison whistle. Once he felt the small object he withdrew is hand, satisfied that he still had a way to call Appa and walked through the same door that Tau had moments before. He walked through many hallways, part of him trying to find the room that Katara was in but he knew that was no use. Tau probably had her in some room that was out of the way from everything else. Instead, Aang decided to settle in a small room that had an old bed in it, most likely it was one of the rooms for the airships long gone crew.

He laid his staff up against the wall and sat in a lotus position on the bed to try to clear his mind. It was tough though. Knowing that he was working for the enemy and that Katara was being held captive somewhere nearby and he struggled to get those thought out of his head. He knew he needed complete peace to gain access to the spirit world. Unable to find any other way to gain that peace, Aang focused on his connection with Katara, finding her presence inside of him and letting that ease his mind.

Minutes later, Aang felt a feeling of weightlessness as he was pulled from his own body and into the Spirit World.

* * *

><p>Katara gasped when she felt Aang through their connection. He was here on the airship with her. Her heart leapt at the thought of that but it was also overcome with worry. She knew Tau had gone to talk to him and she was nervous on how that talk turned out. He had already indirectly taken her mother away from her and if he even so much as hurt Aang…she couldn't be held responsible for what she would do.<p>

Wanting to see him, she gave another week struggle against the ropes holding her to the metal table but stopped when Tau walked into the room.

"What do you want?" she spat at him. This man was a monster and she didn't care what he would do to her, she was not going to be the one to show him respect.

Tau simply laughed her remark off, "I just thought that you might want to know that the Avatar agreed to help us. If he succeeds in what I asked him to do then you and he are free to go."

"Like I'm going to believe that lie," Katara rolled her eyes, "You're nothing but a manipulating, selfish, and heartless man. My father was right to leave you behind."

"So you finally admit that," Tau smiled, "I thought you believed there was something else to it."

"There is," Katara answered, "I don't care what you say. My father is brave and strong and whatever happened, you don't have the whole story of it."

"Think what you will," he shrugged, "If it makes you feel better to tell yourself you father is an honorable man then by all means, go ahead and think that. But the thing you don't understand is that in battle, you see people reveal their true selves. You are finally able to separate the honorable men from the cowards and you father no doubt falls into latter category."

"And you don't," Katara scoffed, "You're delusional if you think you're honorable."

"I know I'm not a coward," he answered simply, his arms crossed, "I did what I needed to do. I battled dozens of firebenders to save innocent lives while your father ran at the first chance he got. You can try to defend him but you and I both know what kind of man he is, no matter how much you refuse to admit it."

"You don't know what you are talking about," Katara murmured, turning her face away from him.

"Sure I do. You know I speak the truth," Tau said, "You're questioning your fathers honor, I can tell. You don't even have to bother admitting it."

Katara didn't answer as she continued to refuse to look back at him, trying to ignore what he was saying.

"I mean really," Tau continued, "From what I saw from him, I have doubts that he even tried to save your mother when she was murdered."

"Well you're wrong," Katara retorted back, turning her head back to glare daggers at him, "He did what he could to save her."

"Did he now?" Tau raised an eyebrow, "Tell me, where was he during her death."

Katara was silent, remembering how she had to run for several minutes to reach her father when she went to warn him about Yan Rah being in their house. He had been nowhere near them at the time but he was busy defending the town from firebenders. Was it really fair to blame him for that?

"He wasn't even near your home was he," Tau guessed as she remained silent, "He was off fighting some firebender while your mother was being murdered."

"He had to defend our tribe," Katara responded half heartedly.

"True," Tau nodded, "But he also left his own family alone without protection. His wife and two young children alone…during a battle going on right outside their house. It does beg the question on what kind of father would do that. You'd think he'd care about his family enough to provide them some protection."

"He was doing all he could," Katara argued again, nonetheless a few tears began to gather in her eyes from the memories that were shooting through her mind.

"Of course he was," Tau smirked back, "And look what happened. An honorable man would have made sure his family was safe from harm before gallivanting off to fight a war," he let out a small laugh before continuing, "I'm willing to bet that he even left you guys after that raid that killed your mother. Knowing him, he probably ran off to fight in the war to distract him from his mistakes."

Katara eyes widened as she gazed at him, a little shocked.

"He did exactly that didn't he," Tau laughed, her silence letting him know that he had been right, "He left you and your brother alone…didn't he?"

"He…he had to," she answered unsurely, "He had to help fight in the war."

"Did he?" Tau questioned, "Tell me, do you really think a few dozen extra men from the watertribe made much of a difference in how the war played out?"

She fell into silence again, her mind telling her that there was some truth to that. A few dozen extra men probably didn't make that much of a difference. Despite everything, she was beginning to doubt her father's actions, Tau's confident words filling her mind.

"You can't argue it," he continued, "You're father left you and your brother when you needed him most. He abandoned you after allowing you mother to be killed. You know it's true, I can see it in your eyes."

"Shut up!" she cried out, finally allowing a few tears to spill from her eyes. She struggled to get out of her binds once again, yelling in frustration as he just sat there and watched in amusement. After a few minutes her struggling stopped and she fell limply back onto the table as she breathed out softly, "Just shut up…"

Tau smiled, knowing that he had won their argument before turning to walk out the room, looking back to the sobbing girl briefly before leaving her alone.

In the back of his mind he thought that perhaps he went a little too far with what he was saying. After all, he had lost both of his parents so he knew that pain that she felt. He pushed those thoughts out of his head quickly though. As far as he was concerned, she deserved to know who her father truly was, whether it hurt her or not.

* * *

><p>This was getting ridiculous. Aang had been walking around at least half an hour now. When he entered the spirit world he had found himself in a large forest. As with everything in the Spirit World, it resembled the physical world except it had an extra twist on things. In this case, the forest Aang found himself in had trees at least hundreds of feet tall that blocked out all light that the spirit world had to offer. He was almost completely blind and he hadn't gotten anywhere in what he was trying to do.<p>

_What makes that guy think I will be able to find anything anyway? _He wondered to himself.

He didn't know how to get out of this forest, he didn't have a good idea of what he was supposed to be looking for and the few spirits he did find either wouldn't talk to him or they simply couldn't talk at all.

So, he did the one thing he could think of and he was beating himself mentally for not thinking of it earlier.

_Roku, I need you…_

He tried calling on his pass life and at first, when he never came, Aang thought that Roku simply didn't want to talk right now. That wasn't like him though, he always helped.

Aang knew he was just being impatient. He felt like that he needed to do this entire thing fast, for Katara. The longer he messed around here in the Spirit World the longer she would be held captive.

_Then again, _Aang thought_, how do I know Tau will really let either of us go once I am done?_

Aang tried to push that thought out of his mind though. He knew the negativity wouldn't help things at all. So, he just continued to walk around the spirit forest curiously, seeing a couple of birdlike spirits up towards the canopy. After a few minutes of walking though, Aang saw an eerie blue glow standing out in the dark forest in front of him.

He quickly ran towards it and as he got closer, the blue glow disappeared and Roku became clearly visible, giving Aang one of his welcoming smiles.

"Hello Aang," he said, "You called for me?"

"Yes Roku," Aang answered, "I need some help but…I'm not sure if you will be able to do what I need."

"What is it?" Roku asked.

Aang sighed as he looked at his past life and strangely, Roku looked as if he already knew what Aang was going to ask, "I'm supposed to be finding some information about some sort of ancient spirits," he explained, "But I don't even know anything about it yet and Katara is in danger and I'm not sure if I'll be able to…"

"Aang enough," Roku raised his hand out in front of him when Aang started to speak a little too quickly, "I know the situation, I am well aware of what's happening. I know exactly what you are looking for."

"You do?" Aang perked up in relief, "Great!"

"I can't help you though," Roku stated calmly.

"What? Why?" Aang questioned a heavy feeling in his heart, disappointed that he wouldn't be getting the help that he thought Roku would provide him with.

"It's too dangerous," Roku said cryptically, "I can't say anymore."

"But…"

"Aang," Roku interrupted, "I know your loved one is in danger and I am sorry for the position you are in. I know that if you don't find what you are looking for, she will be killed. Nonetheless, I can't help you. In this case, it's best that you don't give in to Tau's demands."

"But I can't lose Katara," Aang pleaded, "I don't care what the consequences are, I need her! She's…she's everything to me. I need to save her!"

Roku shook his head, "You need to do what is best for the world. You are the Avatar and if you give in the Tau's demands that you put the entire world in jeopardy. That is all I can tell you."

Aang felt a few tears gather in his eyes but before he could respond, Roku vanished in front of him in a blue-ish cloud, leaving Aang standing alone in the middle of the forest once again.

He wiped the tears with the back of his hand and looked around trying to figure out what to do. Despite what Roku had said Aang knew he would never forgive himself if he just sat back and allowed Katara to die. He couldn't live with himself if he did that. He needed to save her and whatever consequences came out of that, he would deal with them. Part of him though was a little worried at what those consequences entitled. Whatever they were, Roku had been quite clear that he couldn't talk about it and that was what worried Aang. What could possibly be so bad that his own past life would refuse to help him?

He sighed once again and continued to walk through the forest; the other spirits that he saw seemed to run away from him as he drew closer. He looked around frustrated. It was no use. No one seemed to what to talk to him. Suddenly though he heard a loud grunt behind him and he turned around to see the first spirit he had ever had to deal with.

Hei Bai.

The creature looked at him with a tilted head and stepped a little closer to him. Aang smiled, grateful that there was at least one spirit that was not running away from him.

"Hei Bai," Aang walked up and pat the spirit of the forests on the head, "You don't think you could help me could you?"

The large panda like creature just grunted again and shook his head 'no'.

"Well if you can't…" Aang thought out, "Can you take me to someone who can?"

Hei Bai let out a gentle roar in response and laid down on the forest floor, inviting Aang to climb on. At first, the Avatar was a little confused as to what Hei Bai wanted him to do but after a few moments he figured it out and climbed on to the spirit's back as it stood back up.

Seconds later the spirit took off, Aang having no idea where they were going, but trusting that Hei Bai wouldn't harm him.

* * *

><p>"How long is this supposed to take?"<p>

Tau turned to the complaining Sorin calmly, "However long the Avatar needs."

Sorin huffed in response from his seat in the control room as he turned back to watch Ryu fly the airship.

"What's the rush anyways?" Tau asked, leaning against one of the control panels with his arms crossed.

"No rush," Sorin shrugged, "Just having the most powerful being in existence on the same ship as us isn't exactly calming."

"Well relax," Tau rolled his eyes, "I told both you and Ryu, I am handling all of this. All you two need to do is sit here. If anyone has to worry about the Avatar, it's me."

"Yeah, and once he's through with you, he comes for us," Sorin countered.

"We don't have to worry about the Avatar attacking," Tau replied exasperated, "That's the whole reason we captured Katara in the first place."

"Really Sorin," Ryu continued as he worked the controls of the ship, "Don't you think you're being a little to tense about this."

"I'll be less tense once we get the Avatar out of here," the firebender responded.

"I don't get why you are so afraid of him," Tau stated.

"Well to the Fire Nation, the Avatar was always a symbol of the only threat to our country," Sorin shrugged, "I guess those thoughts just stuck with me."

"Well he's not a threat to us," Tau retorted before turning his head towards Ryu, "Are we almost there?"

The earthbender nodded, "We'll be there in a few minutes."

Tau nodded in satisfaction before pushing himself off of the control console that he had been leaning on, "Well the Avatar should be long gone into the Spirit World by now. I'm going to go find out where he decided to leave his body."

"What, you're just going to sit there and wait for him to come back?" Sorin raised his eyebrows.

"No," Tau answered, "But for our plan to work we need to rid him of some of his belongings. We can't have that bison of his coming to rescue him and I think we all know he brought that whistle of his."

"Are we sure he even still has it?" Sorin asked.

"He had it when I saw him in Ba Sing Se years ago before he got Long Feng arrested," Ryu spoke up, shrugging. "I don't know why he wouldn't have it know."

"You two just wait here and stay low," Tau ordered, before turning to walk out the door as he continued speaking, "I want to keep them guessing at how many of us there are."

His two companions nodded in acknowledgment as their leader disappeared from site to find the Avatar's vacant body.

* * *

><p>"Oh no, not this place again."<p>

Hei Bai regarded Aang curiously as the airbender reluctantly dismounted the spirit, standing before the mouth of a cave that was all too familiar to him.

"There has to be another spirit besides Koh that will talk about this," the Avatar complained.

Hei Bai just groaned in response and tilted its head towards the entrance of the cave as if telling Aang that he had to go in. Before he had a chance to protest though, Hei Bai turned around and quickly ran back into the swampy area that surrounded the lair the face stealer.

Aang sighed, not liking where this was going at all. After spending a few moments to manage the torrent of emotions that had hit him upon realizing he would have to visit Koh again, the airbender was finally able to keep a straight face. Slowly, cautiously, he made his way into the caves dark tunnels.

As he walked down the long pathway, Aang felt a shiver run down his spine. For all he knew, Koh was watching him right now, lurking in one of the dark corners around him.

_Show no emotion, show no emotion, show no emotion, _he repeated in his head.

He just wished that Koh would reveal himself already. Currently, the only sounds he could here was his own footsteps and the silence made the situation worse then what it needed to be. Aang's wish was granted however a few moments later when he heard the soft sounds of something crawling on the cave walls behind him.

Aang swiftly turned around and was met with the face of a red dragon staring back at him, quickly realizing that the face was simply one of the many faces that Koh possessed. However, that did nothing to stop his surprise and the Avatar jumped back a few feet, although he was careful to keep his face calm despite that his heart was thundering in his chest.

Koh laughed wickedly, his face shifting to the form of an old man, "Avatar, you come to me again."

"I need your help," Aang said simply, emotionlessly, meeting the spirits gaze.

"Of course you do," Koh answered, "Why else would you be hear? You're in search of something. Something ancient. Something so old that not many spirits that are around now can remember."

"Can you help me?" Aang asked, trying to keep the sound of hope out of his voice.

Koh hummed and moved itself to climb onto the cave wall, looking down at Aang superiorly, "I could, but I believe the question you should be asking is…will I?"

"Will you help me?" Aang reworded his previous question.

Koh moved the front of his centipede like body down behind Aang, whispering into the boys ear cryptically, "You'd like that wouldn't you…to save that precious watertribe girl of yours."

Aang's eyes narrowed automatically in response but luckily, Koh wasn't able to see it since the Avatar back was to him.

"That is of course how all of this started; a watertribe girl," Koh continued, moving back to Aang's front, taking on the face of the Avatar's past life's love, Ummi, "By my stealing the face of the loved one from your past life."

"Ummi," Aang stated simply, "She was Avatar Kuruk's loved one."

"Yes," Koh answered, sounding pleased as it brought the rest of its body to circle around Aang as it kept eye contact, "And I must say that it is proving to cost much more that it was worth. First Kuruk decided to try to find ways to slay me and by doing so he uncovered one of the most dangerous secrets that the spirit world has to offer. Now, there is this new man, Tau, who is searching for the same thing in hope that these spirits he is looking for will help him rid the world from the evil that corrupts it. Unfortunately, what he is searching for will not give him what he desires."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked calmly.

"These ancient spirits that he is looking for," Koh elaborated, switching back to the face of an old man, the face making him seem wiser, "There is a reason why not many know about them. They were locked up millennia ago, cut off from anything and everything. They are…one of Shyalum's greatest mistakes."

"Shyalum?" Aang questioned curiously.

"For all intents and purposes he is the leader of the whole spirit world," Koh told him, "He is the oldest spirit there is and much of what there is today was designed by him. He is the creator of everything that you know, including these spirits that you are looking for."

_The god of all the spirits, of everything really, _Aang thought in his head, "But why do you say that these spirits were his greatest mistakes?"

"Oh, I'd rather not get into it to deeply," Koh began to crawl in a circle around Aang, "They simply didn't serve the purpose that Shyalum hoped they would and there were…dire consequences and with some help, the creator was finally able to get these spirits under control and lock them away. They were never supposed to be seen again, until Kuruk found out about them in his desperate attempts to kill me. Once he found out, more people from your world did and Shyalum had to do some things to…fix the situation."

"What did he do?"

"It doesn't matter; what happened centuries ago is not needed to fix what is happening now," Koh stopped his circling, coming to rest his front behind Aang and two of his legs resting on Aang's shoulder's, causing the boy to shiver as the face stealer whispered into his ear, "You are making a grave mistake by trying to find the spirits. You have no idea what you would be getting the world into."

"Katara's life is in danger," Aang responded, trying to ignore the last part of what Koh said, "I need to know. Where are the spirits locked? How can they be freed? What are they called?"

"They're called the Yanari," Koh answered, "As for the rest, I will not tell you."

"Please," Aang pleaded, turning around to look at Koh straight in the face.

"I don't think you understand how dangerous these things are," Koh said, moving backwards into the shadows of the cave, "Shyalum severely punishes any spirit that speaks a lot about them. I have said what I could. So long, Avatar."

At first Aang tried to follow the face stealer but he quickly decided against it. That would only make Koh angry at him. He knew there was no convincing him to help him further. So instead, Aang turned around and made his way out of the cave, surprised to see Hei Bai there waiting for him.

The spirit tilted its head at Aang curiously as if to ask how things went and Aang just shook his head in response. Sure, he knew more now than he did before but he doubted Tau would be satisfied with the current things that he knew. On top of that, Koh had been very adamant that the spirits, Yanari, he reminded himself, were apparently very dangerous. Dangerous enough that they had to be cut off from everything else and Aang's heart ached at the position he was in. On one hand, he needed to save Katara but on the other, he would apparently be putting the world in great danger by doing so.

Aang shook his head to clear those thoughts however. He would not give up on Katara. He just hoped that he could talk Tau out of all this once he returned to the physical world.

It was clear that no other spirit would help him though so he climbed back onto Hei Bai a little reluctantly, "Take me back to where I came in," he requested, "I don't think there is anything else I could do here."

Hei Bai took off a few moments later, running through the swamp and all the way back to the large spirit forest that Aang had been in earlier. As Hei Bai continued running, Aang saw a dim light in the middle of the forest which he recognized as his way back to the physical world as it was the same place where he had come in from. Once Hei Bai reached the light, Aang hoped off and was about to step through it when a stronger light shined behind him and the Avatar turned around curiously to see the bright light dim, revealing one of his past life's.

"Avatar Kuruk," Aang bowed respectfully.

"Aang," Kuruk smiled, "From what I hear, you could use a little help."

Aang gazed at the older spirit donned in watertribe attire curiously, "How'd you know?"

"You think Roku is the only one that knows what you are going through?" Kuruk laughed, "Many of the past Avatar's have been keeping a good eye on you."

"No one seems to want to help though," Aang sighed.

"I can't say I blame them," Kuruk shrugged, "Koh wasn't lying when he say that Shyalum punishes any spirit that speaks too much about what you are searching for."

"And you're willing to help me?" Aang raised his eyebrows questionably.

Kuruk nodded in response, "That is if you are willing to stay here in this realm for a few extra minutes."

Aang looked back to the dim light that would be his way back to the physical world as if deciding what to do but a few moments later he turned back around and nodded at Kuruk to continue.

"Unfortunately I can't tell you everything that I used to know about the subject. I lot of what I learned about the Yanari when I was the Avatar was taken from me…" Kuruk started.

"Wait…hold up," Aang interrupted, "How was that knowledge taken from you?"

"Koh told you about Shyalum having to fix things when I found out about the Yanari and spread a rumor about them correct?" Kuruk questioned.

"He mentioned it," Aang answered, "But he didn't really go into any details."

"Well what you first must understand is that the Yanari are a well kept secret," Kuruk started, walking over to sit on a large root that was jutting out of the ground from one of the many trees surrounding them, "Spirits are practically forbidden to talk about them and the physical world doesn't even know about them."

"Well obviously someone does since there is a guy looking for them," Aang said.

"Tau," Kuruk nodded understandingly, "I never knew that when I was looking for the Yanari that one of my descendants would follow in my own footsteps."

"Wait," Aang reeled back in surprise, "He's your descendant?"

Kuruk nodded, "You may have noticed a necklace that he wears; it used to belong to me. He's a troubled man but unfortunately he is chasing after a lost cause. Whether he succeeds in releasing the Yanari or not, he won't be getting what he desires."

"Koh said the same thing," Aang stated, "But how did Tau find out about the Yanari in the first place if no one in the physical world knows about them."

"Well you might want to sit down," Kuruk motioned for Aang to sit next to him, "This might be a long story."

Aang obeyed, sitting down next to his past life before listening intently as Kuruk began speaking.

"No one was supposed to know about the Yanari in the physical world but that all changed when I found out about them and wrote about them in a Journal I kept," Kuruk started, "I was in the spirit world for decades trying to find them but once I found out where they could be released from the prison they were locked away in, I realized that I had been wasting my time. To release them, you have to be in the physical world. It was to keep any spirit from trying to release them again. The physical realm didn't know about them so there would be no risk of the Yanari being released…until I came along that is."

Kuruk sighed and shook his head, "Anyways, when I returned to the physical world and rumor spread about the Yanari, Shyalum had to try to rectify the situation. Anyone that learned about the Yanari from me or my journal was killed after Shyalum influenced certain people that had the power to do the killings. And then there was me and Shyalum knew he couldn't just influence the execution of an Avatar. So instead he influenced other spirits to teach a certain group of people a special…art that you are actually fairly familiar with. To put it simply, the Earth Kingdom government captured me and wiped my brain with anything that had to do with the Yanari."

"Wiped you brain?" Aang raised his eyebrows, "That sounds like a Dai Li thing."

Kuruk nodded, "The Dai Li adopted the technique that was used on me when Kyoshi created them," he answered, before looking away from Aang and off to the distance in thought, "Anyway, even though my mind was wiped, I had still known that something was wrong. So I went to my journal to see what information they had erased. I found when I got there that a bunch of pages had been torn out of it. After some searching, I found out that those pages were taken to the Omashu archives by the Earth Kingdom authorities to hide the information I had written about the Yanari."

"If they wanted to hide the information though, why wouldn't they just destroy the pages?" Aang questioned.

"I could only assume that they didn't want the information to be completely lost," Kuruk shook his head, "But I knew they would not let me into the archives so instead I inserted a new page into my journal that had an imprint of the symbol for the archives so someone could follow in my place after I had died. Tau was the first one to follow that imprint."

Aang looked down a little confused, "But…if you knew how dangerous the Yanari were, why did you leave behind clues to lead someone to them."

Kuruk sighed, "At the time I didn't know of the danger they possessed. I just knew where to find them and how to free them. It wasn't until I died and passed to the spirit world that I learned their true purpose."

"None of that answers how Tau knows about them though," Aang stated.

"Shyalum tried his best but you can't destroy information that was released into the whole world. There will always be a least one person left that knows something about the subject," Kuruk explained, "Most likely, Tau heard about the Yanari from one of the few people whose ancestor's weren't killed. Clearly though, Tau's source for the information didn't know too much."

Aang was silent for a few moments, taking it all in, "Well…how are they released though. If I don't find that out then Katara…"

"I know," Kuruk held up his hands to silence the airbender, "As I said, because my mind was wiped I don't know everything that I used to know but I have relearned some things while I have been here in the Spirit World and luckily for you; I know exactly what you need."

He paused as he gathered his thoughts before speaking again, "The Yanari can only be released at one location…the Southern Air Temple."

"What!" Aang's eyes widened.

"At the very top of the central spire there is a room that holds a pedestal at the center," Kuruk said, "A certain object needs to be placed into it and by some miracle…that frees the Yanari."

"That doesn't make any sense," Aang shook his head, "Wouldn't the monks have known about this?"

Kuruk shook his head, "The Yanari were locked away Millennia ago, the Southern Temple's true purpose has been lost over the thousands of years since then…as was the purpose of your old mentor's necklace."

"Gyatso…" Aang let out a whisper.

Kuruk nodded, "His necklace holds the key to unlocking the Yanari. It was passed down over the years as a tradition of sorts and Gyatso was eventually the one to receive it. I don't know what his necklace held, as I said I have lost some of the information I knew, but whatever it is…if you want to free the Yanari, you need that necklace."

"How is all of that possible though?" Aang questioned, "The pedestal? His necklace…how was it even preserved for thousands of years?"

"As I said, it was millennia ago," Kuruk answered, "Things were a lot different back then. With some help from the spirits, I could imagine that making a prison like this for the Yanari would be very possible."

"But if the pedestal releases them…where are they exactly?" Aang asked.

"I don't know," Kuruk shook his head, "Maybe they are trapped beneath the Air Temple…you know as much as I do now."

Aang nodded understandably, "I guess it'll have to do. Thanks Kuruk."

"You don't have to thank me," the past Avatar answered.

Aang gave him a grateful smiled and stood up, walking back over to the dim light leading to the physical world before turning back around quickly to eye Kuruk curiously, "Why did you help me when no one else would?"

Kuruk gave a sad smile and stood up from the root he had been sitting on, "I lost Ummi when I was young and know you are in danger of losing Katara…I wasn't just going to sit back and allow you to go through what I did."

"But you said Shyalum would punish anyone that…"

"I know," Kuruk interrupted, his voice taking a sad tone, "I don't know what the consequences of helping you will be but…it's your information and it's up to you to decide what to do with it now. I'll accept whatever Shyalum decides to punish me with."

Aang gazed at his past life respectfully, and a little sadly for several moments, nodding understandably, "I don't know how I could ever repay you."

Kuruk shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Just go do what you need to do."

Aang nodded and glanced one more time at the watertribe Avatar before stepping into the light that had been waiting for him.

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><p>He felt a little lightheaded when he returned to his body after having been away for a few hours. A hand reached up to rub his head before it rested back onto his lap, feeling a piece of paper crinkle under his wrists. Aang opened his eyes in surprise before looking down curiously and seeing a note on his lap. He reaching down to pick it up and read what was written rather neatly on it.<p>

_Meet me on the walkway that we talked on once you are done._

_Tau._

Aang sighed and used firebending to burn the small piece of paper up before reaching over to the wall to grab his staff but to his shock, it wasn't there. Curiously, the Avatar reached into his robes to see if he still had his bison whistle but that was gone as well.

_Tau, _he thought_, he must have taken them while I was gone._

Huffing in annoyance, he stood up and began walking back to where he had talked to Tau earlier. After walking through the many hallways of the airship, it didn't come as a surprise to him that the Waterbender was already on the walkway, waiting patiently for him.

Tau turned around upon hearing Aang step onto the metal walkway and greeted him with a smile.

"There you are," he said, "I take it you got what I ask for?"

Aang looked down at the floor in thought. Not for the first time today, he was conflicted on what he should do. He could just lie and say he couldn't find anything but that would lead to Katara's death. At the same time though it would be in the best interest of the world.

On the other hand, he could tell Tau what he found out which would save Katara, but according to Koh, that would be a grave mistake.

After a few moments of thought however, Katara won out…she always would.

"Yes," Aang answered softly, "I have the information you need."

"Well let's hear it then," Tau motioned for Aang to speak.

"The spirits are called the Yanari and…," Aang sighed, not feeling right about revealing any of it, "They're very dangerous…you shouldn't be trying to release them."

Tau rolled his eyes, "I didn't ask for your opinion. Tell me what you know or I don't think Katara will be too happy with you."

Aang shook his head, "Tau, please, you have to understand…"

"No you do," Tau interrupted, "I don't care how dangerous you believe these 'Yanari' to be. I believe that they could benefit the world. So where and how do I find them?"

Aang sighed once again, knowing that he would have to come clean with all of it, "They are locked away somewhere…I don't know where…but to release them from the prison…" Aang paused and practically had to force the next words out, "You have to go to the Southern Air Temple, at the very top room of the central Spire. There is a pedestal that you have to place an object in that will release them."

Aang stopped talking and Tau spoke up again curiously, "And this object is…what exactly?"

"I don't know," Aang shook his head, "But Avatar Kuruk said that it is kept hidden by a necklace from Monk Gyatso."

Tau was silent for a moment to take the information in, "I am assuming that this Monk Gyatso is not alive anymore?"

"No," Aang answered bitterly.

"Well then…as appealing as digging through a whole bunch of old bones sounds, you're going to have to be a little more specific," Tau stated, "Where is the necklace now?"

Aang glared at Tau angrily when his people were simply referred to as 'old bones', "It's around the bones of Gyatso's skeleton in a destroyed building at the base of the Air Temple," he growled, "That's all I can tell you."

"Hmm," Tau hummed, before gazing at the Avatar skeptically, "That is all you can tell me or is that's all you _want _to tell me?"

"It's all I can tell you," Aang answered, holding Tau's gaze steadily, "Now give me back Katara!"

Tau didn't answer instead he just turned and hopped off of the walkway and onto the floor below.

"Hey, where is she!" Aang demanded, jumping off the walkway to follow Tau, who had begun walking towards the doorway that would lead to the underside catwalk on the outside of the airship.

"Why don't you find out for yourself Avatar," he answered before opening the door and shutting it behind him as he walked outside.

Aang was about to open the door to follow him but he stopped himself. The door wasn't here before was it? It had been knocked off. Did Tau really have it replaced in the past few hours? Who'd he have with him to replace it?

_The Earthbender…_Aang thought before shaking his head to vanish those thoughts from his mind.

He opened the door and stepped out onto the catwalk and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Tau was standing there ahead of him with Katara being held against him with her back to his chest. Her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were tied together as well. From what Aang could tell Tau was holding her by the ropes that bound her hands.

"Aang!" her heard perked up upon seeing him.

Aang smiled and began to walk towards her but Tau held up his free hand to stop him. Aang obeyed his command and looked around him curiously. It was dark, with only the moon and the stars to give them light. He looked down to see what was below the airship but any piece land they were over was obscured by the darkness. However, Aang guessed that they were at least a couple thousand feet in the air.

"I'm not stupid," Tau spoke up, causing Aang to look back at him, glaring a little when Katara struggled against her binds but Tau continued to hold her strongly against him, "I know that if I just let you have her there would be nothing stopping you from attacking me…and I know I could not beat you in a fight. You're the Avatar and I am just a simple Waterbender."

He paused before smirking at Aang wickedly, "So I am offering you a choice. It's rather simple. You can either do the right thing and stop me right now or," he continued as he glanced at Katara briefly as she struggled a little more to escape his grip, "You can save her."

Aang saw Katara's eyes widen when Tau finished speaking but she didn't say anything. Katara promised herself that she wouldn't speak. This was a decision that Aang needed to make on his own and she wasn't going to try to influence it. It would only make him feel guiltier if he did what they both knew that he needed to do.

However, Tau only gave him a few seconds to think before stated rather calmly, "Chose quickly Avatar."

With that, he shoved Katara roughly off that catwalk and she began to plummet to the ground below. Hearing her screams of fright, Aang reacted quickly. He jumped off the edge of the catwalk without sparing Tau a second thought. He could hear the older man laughing at him as he chased after Katara through the air.

Knowing that he wouldn't catch up to her without any airbending, Aang reached his hands forwards and then quickly shot them back which caused a gust of air to shoot him even faster towards Katara as they both continued their decent, rocketing to the ground below. The airbending did what it was meant to and Aang was easily able to reach her. He grabbed onto her, making sure his hold was strong as he used precise fire blasts to burn away her bonds.

"Hold on to me," he ordered.

She complied, her arms and legs wrapping around him tightly as she buried her head into his neck to muffle her own screams.

They were only a few hundred feet in the air now and the ground was rapidly approaching and Aang did the only thing he could do. His hand shot forward, shooting a blast of air out below them which cushioned their fall and slowed them down as they reached the ground. The cushion of air dissipated beneath them once they hit it and they fell the next few feet and hit the ground which was thankfully rather soft and…sandy?

However, once they landed on the soft surface, they continued to roll down a steep hill they found themselves on. They clutched each other tightly as they reached the bottom of the hill where their bodies finally came to a stop.

After a few moments, Aang sat up, pulling Katara up with him as his heart thundered inside of him. Katara buried her head into his chest, her arms not releasing their tight grip on his body as her whole body shook in his arms. She was terrified from the free fall; it was painfully obvious to him. What he was getting from their connection had to only be a fraction of what she was going through right now.

He did what he could to calm her down. His arms held her shaking form a little tighter as he whispered words of comfort in her ear, rubbing her back soothingly. His head rested on top of hers which resulted in her whole body being surrounded by his embrace. A few tears were brought to his own eyes as she continued to cry against him. He hated seeing her in this much pain, whether it be emotional or physical.

After a few minutes however, her cries subsided and her body just laid weakly in his arms, her breathing coming in soft, shaky breaths. Once he was sure she was at least somewhat alright, Aang finally took the chance to look around to see where they were and his eyes widened in response.

"Oh no…"

"W-what is i-it?" Katara asked with a shaky breath as she turned her head away from his chest to look around them, though her arms stayed tightly around his body.

She didn't need him to answer her though. She could see what the problem was already.

Tau had dropped them right in the middle of Si Wong Desert.

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><p><strong>Well, I hope you all enjoyed this somewhat long chapter...because the next few are rather short...At least comparatively. <strong>

**On top of that, I have some bad news. I am going on vacation starting next Sunday so that means no updates until I get back. I'll be gone pretty much all of next week so chapter 21 will not be up until the Monday after next week. I believe the date for that is August 1st. So yeah, next chapter will be posted August 1st. I'm sorry that is a week and a half away. You have to give me some credit though, when I started this fic I said that I would update once a week and I have done that ever since...I have actually started doing twice a week. So you guys can cut me some slack just this one time right? Please?**

**Anyway, for those of you that regularly message me, I should still be able to reply back...maybe...**

**This chapter is important to me though so please leave a review on your way out.:)  
><strong>


	21. Stranded

**Well, just like I said, I am back from my vacation now with another update. Sorry that its a little on the shorter side.**

**And I still don't own Avatar.**

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><p>"Ryu change our course to the Southern Air Temple now!"<p>

Ryu turned around from the airships pilot seat with a questioning look and saw Tau walking back into the control room, "The Southern Air Temple? Why?"

"I'll explain later," Tau answered, walking over to take a seat next to Sorin, who had been sitting a few feet away from Ryu.

"Is that what the Avatar found out?" The Firebender asked.

Tau nodded, "He said that the spirits we are looking for are called the Yanari and they are to be found at the Southern Air Temple. Like I said, I will explain in more detail later."

"They're called the Yanari?" Ryu questioned, "Well at least we have a name for the things now instead of just using 'those spirits' all the time."

Tau just snorted in response when Sorin began to gaze at him curiously.

"So where's the Avatar?" he asked.

"He and the Waterbender are taken care of," Tau answered, "There is a reason why I wanted Ryu to fly us over Si Wong Desert."

"Did we dump them off there or something?" Ryu guessed, smirking.

Tau smiled and leaned back in his seat, "Pretty much, and since we took his staff and his bison whistle…I'm assuming that they won't be able to survive very easily down there. They can't fly out and they can't call for help. With any luck, the desert will kill them."

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><p>Aang and Katara stood up side by side, looking around at the all too familiar sand dunes that surrounded them.<p>

"Well, this can't possibly be as bad as last time," Katara said optimistically, despite still being a little shaken up, "Just call Appa and we're home free."

Aang glanced at her with a regretful look on his face, "Actually I don't have the bison whistle with me…I think Tau took it while I was in the Spirit World…my glider to."

"Oh," Katara hung her head briefly before looking up into the night sky, "Well at least its night. We better start walking because if there was anything we learned from the last time we were here it's that it's better to move at night and rest during the day."

"I hope we're not that far into the desert or else I don't think walking is going to be enough to get out," Aang stated, looking around as if trying to figure out something else to do. It was a desert though. From what he could see there was nothing but sand, followed by some more sand, and then some sand after that.

"Don't think like that Aang," Katara chided, "We'll find a way out…I don't really think we have much of a choice."

"Yeah, you're right," Aang nodded taking her hand in his and the two of them began their walk through the desert, "We need to get back to Ba Sing Se to warn everyone what Tau is trying to do."

"Is it a big problem?" Katara asked, "He didn't tell me anything about what he was planning. What'd he tell you?"

Aang shook his head, "I'll explain everything later…I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of it."

Katara nodded understandably and the two kept quiet after, just focusing on walking over the sandy dunes that the desert held. It was tougher then they would have originally thought. The sand wasn't solid and they would slip many times along the way. They would have fallen down dozens of times if they hadn't had each other to hold themselves up.

The silence that hung between them as they were walking allowed them to drift off into their thoughts.

Despite everything that told him he did the right thing by saving Katara, Aang felt guilty. He had just essentially helped the enemy get what he wanted. And…he had done it willingly. Tau had given him a choice and Aang had chosen to help him. He could have said no but then again, Katara wouldn't be next to him right now if he did. Maybe that was part of Tau's strategy. Maybe Tau wanted him to feel guilty and that was why he had given him the choice. Even after he had revealed everything to Tau, the Waterbender had allowed him one more chance to put a stop to his plans.

Aang could have simply let Katara fall from the airship and attacked Tau instead. Aang knew that would have been the action that would have been best for the world, especially since the Yanari were dangerous according to Kuruk and Koh. Still though, Aang doubted that he would be able to live with himself if he had done that. Sure, Tau would have been stopped but Katara would be gone…because of him. What would he think of himself if that were to happen? What would he tell Sokka? Hakoda?

He didn't regret saving her but the fact of the matter is was that he just put the world in possible danger by doing so. He just hoped that they would be able to get out of this desert and stop Tau as soon as possible.

Katara on the other hand was struggling with her emotions more than he was. That uselessness that she had felt weeks ago when Aang had tried to leave her behind at the South Pole started to return full force. As far as she knew, this was all her fault. Whatever Tau had gained in the last few hours was because of her. She didn't need Aang to tell her why he had helped their enemy. She already new; she was simply used as incentive for Aang to cooperate. There was nothing more to it. She knew that if she hadn't been in danger, Aang would have never helped Tau. If she had just stayed behind at the South Pole, this wouldn't be happening. They wouldn't be stranded in the middle of a desert, having to walk miles on end to get out. The thing that hurt her more than anything was that she felt that she had done more harm than good ever since they had left her home down south. She had essentially allowed their enemy to get what he wanted. Aang was right all of those weeks ago. He would have been able to do this by himself. She was convinced of it now. She was just a burden. Just a crazy girl in love that didn't want to be left behind; he didn't need her help. As much as she hated to admit it, maybe her destiny was just to sit at the South Pole and let Aang go off alone to do his Avatar thing.

However despite those thoughts that rushed through her head, there was also something that stuck in her mind that made her heart melt. Aang had saved her. He had chosen her over the world. She knew it was wrong but the selfish part of her rejoiced in that knowledge. That though was almost enough to push the more negative ones to the back of him mind. _Almost._

She casted sideways glances to the boy walking beside her and saw that he was also lost in thought. From what she was getting from their bond, it seemed as if he felt a little guilty to. She wanted to talk to him but she decided that would wait until they decided to have some rest. So she just continued walking in step with him.

They had to have been walking for hours by now. The sun was creeping up on the horizon and Katara knew that it would be shining above them before long.

"Aang, I think it might be time for us to rest," she spoke, "The sun's beginning to rise."

Aang, who had been hanging his head down and just simply walking forward without looking finally picked his head up to see that she was right and he stopped where they were, earning a questioning look from Katara.

"I figured I would make us an earth tent," he explained, giving her a small smile, "Unless you just want to lie out in the sun for hours."

"No," Katara shook her head and returned his smile, "The tent sounds good."

Aang nodded, motioning her to step away from him and she quickly complied and watched as he placed his hands onto the sandy ground. With a small movement from his wrists, he hardened the sand below them, creating a small patch of solid earth for them to stand on. At his silent request, Katara walked back over to him and stepped onto the now rocky surface as he motioned his hands upwards, raising earth walls all around them, angling them so that they all met above them couple, effectively surrounding them from all sides. Aang made sure to leave a few holes in the top of the enclosed tent to give them some slivers of light.

Katara looked around at the tent he made and sat down in it. Strangely enough, it was somewhat relaxing…at least more so then the atmosphere outside.

"Nice job," she praised before adding gently as she shifted on the floor uncomfortably, "The floor could be a little softer though."

"I could fix that," Aang stated, bending down again and reversing what he had done earlier. Instead of hardening the earth below them, he softened it, making sure it didn't turn back to sand though. It was still rocky but the surface wasn't uncomfortable to sit on now.

Katara's eyes followed him as he made his way to sit beside her. She scooted a little closer so that their sides were touching as they leaned against each other; each a little exhausted by how long they had been walking.

"So what's wrong?" Aang asked her gently as one of his arms held her waist tightly against him, "I was sensing some things from you earlier and they didn't seem all that good."

"I could say the same about you," Katara countered, meeting his gaze meaningfully, silently asking him what he had just asked her.

"I asked you first…" he responded evasively.

She gave him an amused look before looking away from him as she thought about how she was going to word her thoughts, "I just…you remember a few weeks ago when I felt like I was useless to you after you had tried to leave Sokka and I behind at the South Pole?"

Aang nodded.

"Well, I'm feeling that way again…except that its worse this time," Katara murmured.

"Why would you think that Katara, you're not useless," Aang told her softly.

"All of this is my fault Aang," she answered bitterly, "Tau used me to get to you. If I had never come with you then we wouldn't be in this situation. All of this would be a lot easier for you if I had just let you leave me behind all those weeks ago."

"Katara that's not…"

"It is true," Katara interrupted, closing her eyes trying to block a few tears from forming, "You know, I had always liked to think that my duty, my destiny, was to help you with your Avatar duties but really…that's just something that I thought up on my own."

"No it's not," Aang told her, placing his free hand that wasn't on her waist over her mouth when she tried to interrupt him again, "For more reasons than one, I need you Katara. Don't think anything otherwise."

Katara reached her hand up to take his off of her mouth so she could speak after letting out a sigh, "But you don't need me for things like this…"

"Yes I do!" Aang insisted, "You shouldn't be blaming yourself for any of this. It's not your fault that you were captured okay? You were outnumbered."

"But if I hadn't even gone with you to begin with…"

"Then who would have comforted me when I was upset after hearing of the Earth King's death?" Aang interrupted, keeping his voice gentle, "Who would have healed Zuko? Who would I have gone to for comfort during all of those times when I was upset?"

"No one I guess," Katara answered a little meekly.

"Exactly," Aang nodded, "You don't give yourself enough credit for the things you do. Please, don't think this is your entire fault. I am the one that made the decision to help Tau."

"So you're saying this is your entire fault then?" Katara raised her eyebrows at him in disbelief.

He shrugged, "It was my choice to help. I gave Tau what he needed."

"But you only did that because Tau had me captive," Katara stated.

"Well it was what I had to do to save you," Aang smiled at her.

"Which is why this is my fault," she told him simply.

Aang shook his head, shifting so that he was sitting in front of her as he took her hands and his, "We can't blame ourselves for any of this, neither of us can," he told her, "It was all part of Tau's plan and even if you hadn't been with me…he probably would found another way to force me to help him."

"I know," Katara sighed, "But still…"

"Let's just not think about it okay," Aang smiled before giving her a wide grin, "Besides, aren't you the one that always tells me not to focus on the past."

Katara's eyes instantly seemed to brighten as she let out a laugh, "I guess I should take my own advice then shouldn't I?"

Aang nodded before leaning in to kiss her cheek softly, "Let's just promise not to dwell on it okay?"

"Okay," Katara squeezed his hands, "I promise."

Next thing she new, she was being pulled into a tight embrace, feeling Aang nuzzle his head against her shoulder and the confident boy he had just been moments ago switched to one of relief and vulnerability.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he whispered, "That whole time I was so scared that I was going to lose you."

"I know," she whispered back holding him tighter, "To tell you the truth, I'm still having a hard time believing that you chose me over the whole world."

"Well, why wouldn't I?" he murmured into her neck, "You are my world Kat."

She smiled and kissed the side of his head, "Still though, it amazes me that I hold that much importance to you. I don't think you know how scared I was when Tau threw me off the airship. I thought that it was all over for me. I thought for sure that you would go after Tau because of your duty."

Aang pulled away to look into her eyes lovingly, "You'll always come before the world Kat…I wouldn't be able to do any of it nearly as well without you."

"You saved me," Katara whispered, eyes meeting his soft grey ones.

Aang smiled at her softly, moving a hand up to stroke her cheek, "Come on, let's get some rest."

Katara nodded at him after allowing him to stroke her cheeks for a few moments before laying down, pulling at his arms to bring him down next to her. However the couple soon found that the rocks definitely did not make good pillows in the slightest sense and they quickly sat up glancing at each other, knowing that this wasn't going to work as well as they thought it would.

Suddenly though Aang pulled his air nomad robes over his head, revealing his bare chest and Katara was about to question his actions when he began to fold up his robes and lay them down under his head to rest on. He shifted so that he was lying on his back and he gently pulled at her wrist to invite her to lie on top of him. She happily accepted the invitation as she shifted so that her head was resting on his shoulder as her body laid half on top of him and half to his side; his arms wrapping around her in support.

"Better?" he asked, once she was all situated.

"Much," she answered gratefully, giving him a light kiss before snuggling closer to him and his arms tightened around her waist in response.

Though she felt exhausted, she found it somewhat difficult to go to sleep, probably because of the events that took place during the course of the past twenty four hours. So instead of trying to force sleep on herself, she spent her time drawing small circle on her boyfriend's bare chest with her finger; admiring him and his body that was vastly different then what it was since when they had first met.

He didn't make any movements to halt her ministrations so she took that as a sign that he was enjoying it and she let her fingers travel down to his stomach, feeling the soft skin there and the muscles that lay beneath. It felt nice to her, and clearly, her touch felt nice to him as his eyes began to drift shut. His breathing evened out and she gently traced her hand back up to his chest, letting her nails drag across his skin as she did so causing him to let out a soft sigh.

"Tease," he whispered tiredly.

"Oh I'm sorry," she laughed gently against him, obviously not sorry in the slightest bit.

Still though, knowing that they did need some sleep, her hand resumed drawing gentle, lazy circles on his chest as she had been doing before and it was only a few minutes later that she felt him drift off into sleep, his arms that were around her loosening slightly. She moved her hand from his chest to rest upon his unoccupied shoulder as she nuzzled her head further into the crook of his neck. As she felt herself drift off to sleep, her curious hand went from his shoulder to trace the arrow on his upper arm. The action occupied her for the next several minutes before her hand started to slow it's up and down motions as she felt herself starting to struggle to keep her eyes open. She let out one last content sigh before her eyes finally drifted shut, letting sleep overtake her.

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><p><strong>So I think this story is at 95 or so reviews right now...lets try to see if we can make that 100 with this chapter. Next one will be up Thursday.:)<strong>


	22. False Hope

**Okay, this one is another shortish chapter but they get back to normal length after this.**

**I don't own Avatar**

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><p>Sokka paced back and forth through the living room in their Ba Sing Se home.<p>

"I don't get it," he fretted as Suki watched his pacing from the couch she was lounging on, "It's been a whole day. Aang should have called us to come get him by now."

"Maybe he just needs a little more time," Suki suggested.

Sokka shook his head quickly in response, "It shouldn't be taking him this long. He even said it himself; a few hours at the most. If he needs more time it means that he's in trouble and that thought isn't particularly comforting."

"Sokka, Aang's the Avatar," Suki stated, "I think he could handle anything that could have happened once he got to the airship."

"But what about my sister," Sokka countered, "Those men kidnapped her for a reason and then they ask Aang to come and meet them. They're probably used her as a bargaining chip."

Suki became quiet after that, knowing that was very high possibility of what could have happened.

"And we both know Aang wouldn't risk Katara's life," Sokka continued, pacing a little quicker around the room, "If they threatened him with Katara then he would give in to what they say. What if they just simply killed him and used Katara as incentive for him not to fight back? They probably killed Katara after that to…"

"Sokka we don't know what happened, let's not jump to conclusions," Suki told him, "Especially if those are the conclusions that you are going to come up with."

"So…what?" Sokka questioned, finally stopping his pacing to look at her, "Are you telling me that you don't think they're in trouble?"

"I'm not saying they aren't; I'm just saying that we don't know yet," Suki answered, standing up from her spot on the couch to walk over to him, pulling him in a comforting embrace, "Look, I'm worried about them to, but right now there is nothing we can do. We already alerted General Howe and he sent a small search party out. Zuko and Bumi should be here tomorrow for those meetings in a few days. If we don't hear from Aang or Katara by then, then we'll worry, okay?"

"I'm worrying now," Sokka whispered, returning her embrace.

"I know you are," Suki told him softly, "But just try not to okay? You know Aang would do anything to make sure you sister is okay and he wouldn't go down without trying to defend himself. They'll be fine."

He breathed in a heavy sigh in response, "I know that he would but this is my sister and best friend we're talking about. It's hard not to worry…"

Suki nodded against his shoulder understandably, "They're my best friends to but it's not going to help either of us to just sit here and mope about it."

"Well what else is there to do?" Sokka questioned, "You said it yourself that there is nothing we can do to help them."

"Well for the time being…we could distract ourselves for the next couple of hours," Suki smiled against him.

"How?" Sokka furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion causing Suki to pull away and look at him mischievously.

"You know how," she said simply, before leaning forward to give him a soft peck on the lips and what she was suggesting finally dawned on Sokka as she continued, "We don't have anyone else here to interrupt us this time like Katara did when we were leaving Omashu. So you still want to sit here and mope or do you want to try some…experimenting."

Instead of answering with words Sokka answered by pulling her into a deep kiss, causing Suki to giggle to herself before she relaxed into it, sighing softly as they spent the next few hours in each other's arms; everything else forgotten.

* * *

><p>Katara felt herself gently being shaken awake later that day. Not wanting to get up, the Waterbender shook her head swiftly and nuzzled it further into the neck of the same boy that was waking her. However the shaking became a little more urgent so she was forced into opening her eyes to see Aang apologetically staring at her.<p>

"Sorry, but its night now," he told her, "We should probably start moving again."

She reluctantly got off of him in response standing up and helping him up as well. She took a few steps away from him to allow him to make a few earthbending motions to bring down the shelter that he had built. However, as he was doing this, Katara noticed that something about Aang's motions seemed off…like he didn't have as much energy as he usually did.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, her eyes eyeing him up and down in concern, "Something seems a little off about you right now."

Aang looked back at her, walking up to take her hand as they began their walk through the desert again.

"I think I'm just getting a little hungry," he admitted, a hand coming up to rub his throat, "And thirsty."

"I've got to agree with you there," Katara responded, her stomach rumbling a little as if to agree with her, "Here maybe I can…"

She stopped their walking as she let go of Aang's hand while he watched her attempt to gather some water out of the air. Unfortunately, she was only able to pull out a few small droplets causing her to shake her head slowly.

"The air's to dry to pull out a good amount of water," she said, eyeing the few small droplets that she was able to get, "But this will have to do for now I guess. Here go ahead and have a drink."

She bent the drops of water over to Aang and he caught them with his own bending, moving the water up to his mouth to take a small sip of it before stopping.

"You need to have something to drink to," he told her.

"That's okay," Katara shook her head, "Pulling that much out of the air was a little energy draining, I'm not sure if it would be good to spend my energy trying to get a few more drops of water. It won't either of us any good if I just become too exhausted to do anything."

"Well then here," Aang responded, knowing that she had a good point as he passed the drops of water back over to her, "At least have the rest of this."

"You sure?" Katara questioned, "That earthbending probably took more energy than the waterbending took from me. You probably need it more that I do."

Aang shrugged, "It's okay. I would feel bad if I drank all of it anyway. Go ahead and have the rest of it; I'll be fine."

Katara still gave him a questioning look as she somewhat reluctantly sipped up the last of the water. Aang just stood there patiently as she drank it before walking up and grabbing her hand again once she was finished. Katara gave him a soft, encouraging smile as they both started walking again. They remained quiet for what seemed like to them to be hours, but it probably was only an hour at most. Eventually, the silence was beginning to bother Katara so she finally spoke up to try to start some discussion.

"So now might be a good time to tell me what Tau wanted," she stated, casting a quick glance at the boy beside her.

"Yeah, you should probably know all of it shouldn't you?" Aang asked rhetorically.

Katara remained silent once he paused in thought before speaking up again.

"He's looking for some spirits that are apparently ancient," he explained, "He asked me to go into the spirit world to find information about them."

"Well did you find anything?" Katara asked curiously.

"You probably wouldn't be alive if I hadn't," Aang said sadly, feeling her give his hand a comforting squeeze, "The spirits are called the Yanari and they were locked away long ago…in the Southern Air Temple."

"What?" Katara's eyes widened in shock, "Your home? That…that doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't the monks know about it or something?"

Aang shook his head, "According to Avatar Kuruk, that knowledge was lost over the thousands of years since the Yanari were locked away. Who knows…maybe this all happened before the Air Temples were built and the Southern one was built for the sole purpose of covering it all up."

Aang paused and Katara noticed a sad expression form on his face and he seemed to be lost in his thoughts all of the sudden.

"Aang?"

He shook his head, "I just can't believe it. The Air Nomads were the most peaceful people in the world but yet one of our own homes held something evil."

"It's not their fault Aang and like you said, they didn't even know…wait," Katara paused for a second, the last of Aang's words finally registering in his mind, "What do you mean something evil?"

Aang sighed in response, "The Yanari are apparently very dangerous. Kuruk and Koh both warned me of that. There so dangerous the even Avatar Roku refused to help me find out about them," Aang shook his head, "That's only the beginning of it all to. The spirit that essentially is in charge of anything punishes anyone that speaks too much of them. The Yanari are apparently dangerous enough that even the most powerful spirit is afraid of them…and I just told Tau how to release them…I risked the entire world."

"Hey, don't dwell on that remember," Katara chided, moving a little closer to him as they walked.

Aang sighed and nodded agreeably, trying to push the guilt out of his mind, knowing that if he started dwelling on it again then she would probably start dwelling on her own guilt to. Perhaps she already was since he could faintly feel that certain emotion coming from their connection.

"So," Katara spoke up again, trying to draw them away from those thoughts, "What was this all powerful spirits name."

"Shyalum," Aang answered before snorting in disgust, "I can't even imagine how he will punish Kuruk for telling me everything he did."

"I'm sure Kuruk will be fine," Katara assured and Aang just shrugged unsurely in response.

"I hope he is," he responded.

"So did he tell you how the Yanari are to be released?" Katara asked.

Aang nodded, "At the top of the central spire of the temple there is a podium in the middle of a large room. I know what he was talking about because Gyatso actually took me up there once. Not many people go up there because there isn't really anything to do…though it is a good spot for meditating."

"Anyways," Aang continued. Shaking his head as he realized he had gotten off track slightly, "A small object needs to be inserted into the podium and then I guess that Yanari are free."

"Wait, so what s the object that you need," Katara questioned.

Aang shrugged, "I don't know exactly what it is but apparently it has something to do with Gyatso's necklace. Kuruk said that necklace was passed down over the years and it holds the key to releasing the Yanari."

Katara shook her head in confusion, "That doesn't make any sense though. How would something like that even work?"

"I asked Kuruk the same thing," Aang answered, shrugging, "Kuruk could only speculate that the world was a lot different thousands of years ago to how it was now and that something like that was possible. He said that the spirits, Shyalum in particular, did help build the Yanari's prison though."

"Hmm," Katara hummed, taking it all in as she gazed out across the desert in thought. However, Aang suddenly gasped and squeezed her hand in alarm causing her to look back at him in concern.

"What is it Aang?"

"I just thought, what will those men do once they find Gyatso's skeleton?" Aang fretted, "What if they disturb it? What if…"

"Aang don't think about that," Katara told him, once again halting there walk to pull him into a comforting embrace, "They won't do anything to it. They'll get his necklace and then they'll leave it alone."

"You don't know that," Aang said while pulling away from her.

"Well if they do then we'll make sure that they will regret it," Katara told him venomously, as she took his hand to begin walking again, "Tau has already hurt me enough…I won't let him get away if he hurts you to."

"Wait…what do you mean?" Aang asked looking at her in concern, "What'd he do to you on the airship?"

"It wasn't anything he did there," Katara shook her head, "He didn't really hurt me at all…it was what he did before. He's from my tribe…I guess I was simply too young to remember him before he left."

"I don't understand though, what'd he do?"

Katara looked away from him, her eye's narrowing angrily, "He's the one responsible for my mother's death."

"What!" Aang questioned, "But I thought that was that one guy, Yan Rah…

"Yan Rah was the one that killed her," Katara said, her voice sounding bitter, "Tau is the one that told him there was a Waterbender left in the Southern Watertribe…he's the whole reason the Fire Nation raided that day. All because of him…"

Aang watched in concern as she closed her eyes and he could faintly see a few tears dripping from them but she quickly wiped them away.

"It was all because of my father to!" she yelled angrily, letting go of Aang's hand and clenching both of her fists, "if it wasn't for him, Tau wouldn't have done that!"

"Wait back up," Aang said, as he grabbed one of her hands again and began to stroke the back of her it with his thumb to try to comfort her as much as he could while they walked, "What did your father do?"

Katara answered with another questioned, "Remember on our anniversary my dad mentioned going off to fight in the war for a few months?"

Aang nodded.

"Tau went with him and during some battle; my dad ran and left him and a few earthbending soldiers behind which resulted in them getting captured by the Fire Nation," Katara explained, "Tau said that dad had promised to come back for him and the other soldiers…and instead he ran away…like a coward."

"You don't know if your dad really did that though," Aang said, the fact that she seemed to be angry at Hakoda not escaping his notice, "Maybe you should think about that instead of jumping to conclusions."

"No," Katara retorted, "You didn't see how mad Tau was when he was talking about it. Anger like that just doesn't come out of nowhere. There is some truth to his story."

Katara paused before taking in a deep breath, "It doesn't matter. Whatever his reasons were, Tau is responsible for my mother's death and I'll make him sorry for it…"

"Kat…" Aang began warningly, hearing her voice take on the same tone that it did when she went after Yan Rah all of those years ago.

"I won't kill him Aang," she interrupted, "But I am going to confront him. Don't try to stop me."

A few moments later Aang nodded understandably, "Do what you need to do."

Katara breathed in a deep sigh to calm herself down before she gave him a soft smile, "Thanks Aang."

After that, the couple fell into silence as they kept on walking. As the hours passed, they felt themselves become more tired than they were before and they were both overcome by the need to eat something as their stomachs growled in annoyance from the lack of food. The fact that their throats felt dry from the lack of fluids didn't help either.

"You think you can get a few more drops of water for us?" Aang asked, holding his hand to his throat as it felt a little sore as he spoke.

"I can try," Katara answered, giving him a sympathetic glance as she waved her hand through the air to try to gather some more water. However unlike last time, she wasn't able to produce any water from the air.

Katara huffed in frustration as she waved her hand through the air over and over again after each failed attempt before Aang grabbed her arm to stop her. Katara gave him a curious look in response.

"You're just wasting your energy," Aang said, "Don't worry about it."

"But you…"

"I'll be fine," Aang told her, letting out a drawn out breath and closing his eyes, "Let's just keep moving."

"If you say so," Katara whispered, noticing that he was having them walk at a much slower pace and Katara looked at him in concern. Sure, she was hungry to, her stomach was aching and her own throat felt dry but it seemed to be affecting him more. Maybe it was because he was a little younger than her or maybe it was because of the earthbending he had to do to make their shelter. Either way, he was clearly exhausted and if she felt lightheaded herself, she couldn't even imagine what he was feeling like.

"I'm sure we'll get out of here soon," she said optimistically, "And then we can eat and drink all that we want. We just have to keep walking a little longer."

Aang just have her a quick glance, "I know you don't really believe that Katara."

"Well it's something to hope for isn't it?" she responded.

"I guess…except that I don't think we're anywhere close to getting out of here," Aang said in a defeated tone, eyes gazing out at something in front of them.

Katara raised her eyebrows and turned her head from him to see what he was looking at, her shoulders slumping dejectedly by what she saw.

Before them was the big crater that Wan Shi Tong's great library used to occupy. The two benders walked up to the edge of it, their hearts aching as both of them realized the same thing.

_Aang was right, _Katara thought_, we really are nowhere close to getting out._

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, I don't really have much to say...review and next chapter will be up Monday...as usual.<strong>_  
><em>


	23. End of the Line

**I don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>"What are we going to do now?" Aang murmured quietly as they continued to stare at the crater before them, "There's no way we will have the strength to just walk out of here."<p>

Katara finally looked away from the crater that was left behind from Wan Shi Tong's sunken library and turned to Aang, eyeing his tired form sympathetically, "We have to at least try Aang. We aren't going to get anywhere if we just sit here."

"I don't think we'll get much farther if we keep walking either," Aang sighed, falling to his knees and burying his head in his hands, "I don't know how much more I have in me."

The girl beside him breathed in a heavy, shaky breath as she knelt beside him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He picked his head up to give her a grateful look and leaned into her as her arms came around him to hold him tightly. His breathing was shallow as her leaned his head on his shoulder, feeling her hands draw slow circles on his back for comfort.

Despite her comforting actions however, Katara didn't really know what to do. They had been in this desert for two days now and she had believed that they were almost out…until now that is. The somewhat optimistic mindset that she had was quickly decimated at the site of the library's crater and she knew that unless they got lucky, they wouldn't make it if they just tried to keep walking out. They were still too far into the desert and hunger and dehydration had begun to creep over them.

For now at least, she was able to ignore how her body was reacting to the lack of sustenance. Sure, she felt weaker than normal, her throat felt dry, and she had felt a little lightheaded when they had been walking a few moments ago but apparently, the effects were far worse on Aang.

She glanced down at her soul mate that had slumped against her in exhaustion. It did not escape her notice that his voice had sounded a little rough when he had talked moments ago and by just looking at him…he seemed broken, helpless. The normally optimistic and energetic boy she was used to was now weak, tired, and he seemed to have lost all hope of getting out of here.

Katara sighed against him before pulling away, knowing that despite his condition, they both had to keep trying. If they just sat here and did nothing, they would be dead for sure.

"Come on Aang, we need to get moving again," She told him regretfully, standing up and extending her arm down to help him up as well.

He regarded her hand that was held out in front of him for a moment before shaking his head, "Maybe we should just rest a bit."

"Aang you know we can't do that," Katara said, "You know things are only going to get worse if we don't find a way out soon. We just can't sit here and…we have to get back to Ba Sing Se to warn everyone what Tau is doing."

"I know we do but…,"Aang drew off, his voice having choked out the last word. He took a few breaths before trying to speak again, "We're not going to get out by just walking."

"I know but maybe if we keep moving we'll come across something…maybe we'll run into some sandbenders," she responded hopefully.

"Because they're such nice people," Aang rolled his eyes, remembering the time they stole Appa.

"Well they helped us get out last time didn't they?" Katara retorted, waving her that hand she had been holding in front of him back and forth, "Now come on. Get up, I got you."

Aang sighed, grabbing her hand and allowing her to pull him up off the ground to stand beside her. She gave him a sad smile before leaning forward to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"We'll get out of here okay? Trust me," she whispered.

Aang nodded as her hand tightened around his and she lead him to walk further through the desert. However, unlike before, it was obviously more difficult. They walked slower to accommodate the fact that they were both weaker than normal and after Aang had stumbled a few times, Katara had to drape one of his arms over her neck to help him stay upright.

She tried not to focus on how hungry she was or the fact that her throat felt extremely sore. Focusing on that would do more harm than good. She quickly realized though that the need to quench their thirst was on the forefront of Aang's mind when his head perked up as they came across a small cactus.

"Hey, maybe we can get something to drink from there," he murmured, attempting to walk over to the desert plant before being stopped be Katara firmly pulling him backwards.

"No way," she said sternly, shaking her head before her voice took on a more sympathetic tone, "I know you're thirsty Aang, I am to, but cactus juice will be the nail in the coffin for us for sure."

Aang gave her a quick glance before he nodded, remembering how Sokka had been after drinking cactus juice. While Aang might not be in the best mindset at the moment, he knew that running around and hallucinating wouldn't really be the best thing to do at the moment. He grimaced to himself at the thought of what would result if Katara would have let him have a drink from the cactus. So he just simply let Katara pull him away from it as they walked on.

Half an hour later, the sun was once again starting to peak up and both benders let out a sigh in relief.

"Now I think we can rest," Katara said, breathing heavily from the amount of effort it took to walk for hours on an empty stomach and in the desert no less.

"I guess that's my cue," Aang murmured, letting go off her hand to walk a few feet away from her to start bending them another earth shelter.

"Aang you don't have to, we would probably be just fine laying in the sun," Katara told him in concern, "I don't want you wasting what little energy you have left."

Aang shook his hand, hardening the sand below him and bending an earth tent up from the now rocky soil, "We have to consider you to," he explained once he finished, "And it'll be better if we had shelter to rest in."

"If you say so," she whispered as she followed him into the tent as he bent another wall up behind them to completely enclose them in.

After that though, he quickly flopped down onto the rocky surface, not even bothering to use his own cloths as a pillow as he had done the day before. Katara sat down next to him with her legs crossed as she picked his head up to lay it on her lap, resulting in him opening his eyes to look up at her curiously.

"Just get some sleep Aang," she said soothingly, her hand tracing the contours of his face.

"What about you," he asked tiredly, struggling to stay awake.

"I'll manage," she answered, giving him a soft smile and whatever objections Aang had ended up being unspoken as he was unable to stay awake any longer.

Katara kept gazing down at him in concern. She too was now starting to feel what he had been feeling a couple hours ago when they had been at the library's crater. She wasn't sure how much more she could go on like this. Aang was in a worse condition than her and she could only imagine what he had been feeling like just now. It broke her heart to see him this broken. She hated it and what was worse; there was nothing she could do about it. She was just about as helpless as he was at the moments. She only hoped that when night fell again, they would be able to find a way out because one thing was certain to her now: they would not last another night.

Pushing those thoughts out of her head, she leaned her head back against the wall of the tent to try to get some sleep of her own. It wasn't the most comfortable position but the exhaustion she was feeling far outweighed any discomfort and she was easily able to drift off into sleep a few moments later.

* * *

><p>Sokka steered Appa through the skies as Suki looked over the edge of the saddle to see if they could spot Aang or Katara anywhere: whether it be on the ground or in the air. Zuko and Bumi had arrived a few hours earlier but before Sokka or Suki had the chance to talk to them, they had been pulled into a meeting with General Howe; probably so they could be caught up on what was happening. So in the mean time, Sokka and Suki decided that they would do something that was at least semi-useful and they had set out to search for their two lost friends on Appa an hour ago. However so far, they haven't had any luck.<p>

Sokka sighed and shook his head. It was no use. Wherever they were, his sister and his best friend were probably far away from here or worse: dead. Sokka shivered at the last thought but he couldn't deny the possibility. It was clear to him now, they were in trouble. Otherwise, why wouldn't they have returned by now? The search parties General Howe sent out were unable to find anything and if Sokka was honest with himself, things seemed rather hopeless. No doubt his two companions were in trouble but on top of that, Katara's kidnappers most likely got what they wanted.

"Find anything?" he heard Suki ask him from the back of the saddle.

"No and I don't think it's any use," Sokka answered.

Next thing he knew, Suki had moved to the front of the saddle to look at him in concern, "Do you want to head back?"

"We probably should," Sokka sighed, "We're just wasting our time."

With that, Sokka directed Appa back towards Ba Sing Se which was only a few minutes flight away. They flew straight to the palace where they saw Zuko walking out the entrance along with Mai, apparently having finished talking to General Howe. Sokka quickly landed Appa a couple dozen feet away from him, alerting the young Fire Lord as he watched Sokka and Suki hop off of Appa. As a few guards ran over to escort Appa back to the stables, Sokka walked up to Zuko and Mai, with Suki in tow, to greet his friends.

"Hey you two," Zuko greeted, giving them a small wave before looking around as if trying to find something, "Where's Aang and Katara?"

"You mean Howe didn't tell you?" Suki questioned, causing Mai and Zuko to exchange confused glances.

"Tell us what?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, did something happen?" Zuko added.

Sokka and Suki both sighed in response before Sokka spoke up, "We don't know where they are."

Zuko looked at him weirdly as he waited for the watertribe warrior to continue but when he didn't after a few moments, Zuko decided to speak again, "Look, I know this is a big city but I think it would be pretty hard to lose track of them here…they do know where your house is right?"

Sokka rolled his eyes and gave Zuko and exasperated look as Suki spoke for him, "Someone captured Katara a few days ago. We're assuming that it was the same men that killed the Earth King."

"She was captured…" Zuko repeated, as if not believing what he heard, "What about Aang?"

"Went to go get her," Suki shrugged, "The men left a note for Aang to meet them on their airship…and he left to do that a few days ago."

"Well shouldn't they both be back by now then?" Mai questioned.

"They should have been back two days ago," Sokka answered, "That's what has us worried. I think something may have happened to them."

Zuko looked off to the side in thought, worried about his two friends, "You don't think they…"

He didn't finish but Sokka knew what he was suggesting and he breathed out a deep sigh, "I hope not."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group after Sokka spoke, each lost in their thoughts. They were all worried, especially Sokka.

"I wonder why General Howe didn't tell us?" Mai asked Zuko before turning back to Sokka, "You have told Howe about this right?"

Sokka nodded, "He sent out a few search parties but they haven't been able to find anything…they're long gone."

Suki suddenly noticed a change in her boyfriend's posture and she grabbed his hand in concern, "Sokka?"

"It's my fault to!" he continued agitated, "I was there with her when they took her but they caught me by surprise. I should have been there to protect her."

"It's not your fault Sokka," Suki told him gently.

"Yeah," Mai agreed, "No offense but if your sister wasn't able to fend them off then I don't think you would have done much better."

Sokka glared at her, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that she was up against one very powerful Waterbender, an earthbender, and probably one or two more men," Mai shrugged, "Those are tough odds even for your sister…and she's a master Waterbender. You're not."

Sokka looked away from her, feeling oddly comforted. What she said did have some truth to it, even though she was essentially calling him weak in the process, but what would he have been able to do against a couple of master benders? Sokka didn't let the fact that he wasn't a bender slow him down but at the same time, he did know that he had certain limits as to what fights he could actually win. Truth was, whether Sokka had been conscious to help Katara or not; the result probably would have been the same.

"Well I guess when you put it that way, you're right," he finally conceded.

"Of course I am," Mai simply shrugged.

"Well to get our minds off of all that…where were you two going anyway," Suki asked.

"We were actually going to go visit my uncle," Zuko answered, "I haven't seen him in a while. You two are welcome to come if you'd like."

"I wouldn't mind," Suki answered, before looking at her boyfriend questionably, "Sokka?"

He was silent for a few moments as he though before he answered, "Sure, why not? I could probably use a good cup of tea."

"Well let's go then," Zuko said, as he turned to lead the group towards his uncle's tea shop.

* * *

><p>Katara slowly awoke, feeling a little sick. She brought a hand up to rub here eyes tiredly before taking in her surroundings. She was still in the enclosed earth tent that Aang had built and judging by the lack of light coming from the small holes that Aang left at the top of the tent, night had fallen once again which meant it was time for her and Aang to get moving. She sighed, part of her not really wanting to move but yet at the same time knowing that they had to.<p>

Reluctantly, she looked down at the boy still sleeping with his head on her lap and shook him awake gently. It took more effort than usual to wake him up, her shaking had become almost violent. He eventually woke though, looking up at her through tired and confused eyes questionably.

"It's night," she explained softy, suddenly having a hard time speaking as her throat ached with every word she spoke, "We need to get moving."

Aang sighed and lazily rolled off her lap, allowing her to stand up, albeit a little unsteadily. However, if she thought she had a hard time getting up, it was apparently nothing like the trouble Aang was having.

The young airbender fell down on his first attempt before he decided to use the wall to help himself stay standing. Katara was about to reach out to help him but suddenly, he pushed himself off the wall with enough strength that he was able to crash through the wall of the earth tent with minimal bending strength. All he really did was make a punching motion with his fist as he crashed through the wall. He had fallen down again after that though, lying on the shifty sand that was cooled by the night air.

Katara stepped out of the small hole he made in the wall to see him struggling to get back up and she quickly made her way over to him. She bent down to maneuver her arms under his own to hull him up. He helped her, trying to make sure he wouldn't collapse over again and once he was standing, being supported by her, they were both breathless. The action seemed to take all of the energy out of both of them.

"Thanks," he croaked out in a raspy voice.

Katara just gave him a weak smile before whispering so her own voice wouldn't hurt as much, "Try not to talk too much okay?"

He nodded in response, gladly staying silent as his throat seemed to burn from just that one little word he said to her. Not only that, his stomach was aching, his knees felt week and he was struggling to keep his eyes open but when Katara urged them both forward, he didn't resist. He didn't have the strength to. He knew they needed to move somewhere, not matter how much it hurt him to do so. Still, he couldn't help but respect Katara even more then he had previously. No doubt she was feeling some of the effects of starvation and dehydration that he was but she was at least still somewhat attentive to the things around them and what they had to do. He could hardly even tell where they were; everything seemed like a blur to him.

Katara glanced over at him in concern, seeing how much he was struggling. If it wasn't for the part of her that always told her to keep on fighting, she would probably be happy to just collapse onto the sand to. She remembered what she told Aang the night before and how they were going to find a way out of here. Even she was starting to doubt that now and those doubts only increased when Aang suddenly collapsed beside her, pulling her down with him. She was able to catch herself though, falling onto her hands and knees while Aang simply fell face first into the sand.

"Aang?" she asked worriedly, crawling over to his prone form, praying that he was alright.

Once she got to him, she turned him over, placing one of her hands on the back of his head to hold his head off of the sand while her other hands pressed against his chest, feeling his heart beating faintly.

"Aang?" she repeated quietly, though her voice was still filled with worry.

He didn't make any movements and Katara moved the hand that was on his chest to grasp his own.

"Wake up Aang," she pleaded, her heart thundering in her chest, while her thumb began stroking the back of his hand.

At first when his eyes didn't open, she felt a few tears beginning to prickle her own. Just when she was about to clutch him desperately however, his eyes slowly opened, gazing back into her own teary ones weakly.

" 'Tara," he murmured, struggling to hold her gaze.

"I'm right here Aang," she told him gently, giving his hand a soft squeeze.

"I don't think I can go on any longer," he took in a deep breath, "Please don't make me…"

Katara felt her heart ache from how weak and vulnerable he sounded and the pleading expression he was giving her nearly broke her heart completely, "I'm not going to make you do anything. We can rest right here if you want."

Aang gave her a weak smile as he seemed to sigh in relief. His breathing was soft and shallow and his eyes were unfocused. The grey eyes that she loved so much, the same eyes that would always shine brightly when he looked at her seemed hauntingly dull at the moment…like there was barely any life left in them.

"I'm so sorry Aang," Katara whispered, letting a few tears fall from her eyes, "I'm sorry for pushing you so hard. I just…"

"You don't have to be sorry," he interrupted her softly, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath before opening them again, "You were doing what we needed to do. If we just stayed put nothing would have changed.

Aang paused trying to ignore the fire in his throat before he spoke up again, his voice become more hoarse with every word, "You said that yourself and you were right…you always have been."

"Aang…" she started, not really knowing what to say but feeling like she had to say something, anything, to keep him awake, "We…we can still get out of her. It's not over yet…"

"Yes it is," he murmured back weakly, his voice barely above a whisper, "We got out last time because the sand benders helped us out and you heard people talk about all of the men that would venture into this desert only to become lost and die days later. We're just going to become one of those people now…well I am at least…you still seem to have some fight left in you."

Katara shook her head quickly in response, not believing what she had just heard him say, "Don't" she pleaded as a few more tears feel from her eyes, "Don't say things like that. We're getting out of here together Aang. I'm not letting you die out here."

"Katara, you have always been able to help me escape death before," Aang whispered, pausing to let out a long sigh, his voice becoming even quieter than it had before, "But not this time…I'm sorry Katara…"

Her breathing quickened, her hand squeezing his own desperately, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks, "Aang…Aang no…you can't…y-you can't d-die."

Aang closed his eyes, unable to keep them open that much longer, his own heart aching when he saw the pain that his soul mate was going through. He wished that he could comfort her, to tell her that he would be alright but he would be lying if he told her that. He was dying; he could see that very clearly. It wasn't death that he was afraid of though…it was that he would be leaving her here, alone. What would that even do to her? Their connection had become such an integral part of their lives, what would it even feel like for her to suddenly lose that?

He forced himself to open his eyes to gaze up at her, seeing tears flowing freely down her face as her body shook with her sobs, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Katara," he breath out, causing her to open up and look at him pleadingly, as if begging him to stay with her, "Kiss me," he requested gently, wanted to feel the intimate contact one last time.

She nodded, not having the heart to deny him and bent her head down slowly, seeing his eyes close as she got closer. She closed her own eyes as well, their lips finally meeting in a soft but shaky kiss.

"I love you…" he whispered as he breathed out one last contended sigh before his body fell limply into her arms.

She let out a shaky breath, pulling back to gaze at the limp body she was holding as her sobs came back full force. Her lips quivered and her body shook as tears fell from her cheeks and onto his clothing as she clutched him desperately to her, not quite believing that he could be gone. She screamed his name, clutched him tighter, doing anything she could to force him to wake up again but it was no use.

His presence that she had gotten so used to being inside of her ever since they completed their bond seemed to slowly fade away. She could barely even feel his spirit inside of her and the only thing she could describe the feeling as was emptiness. She felt lost, confused, and for the first time in a while, she didn't know what to do. Any coherent thought about escaping the desert left her mind, no longer having the willpower to fight…not without him, her soul mate.

She fell limply on top of him, no longer having the energy to hold herself up; her crying having taken all of that energy out of her. Maybe if she just rested her head for a while everything would be different when she woke up. Maybe if she just closed her eyes…

Katara took in one last deep breath before her body became limp on top of his, letting darkness overcome her.

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><p><strong>Um...please don't hate me. I promise this is the last cliffhanger-y type ending for the next 5 or so chapters. Review and next chapter will be up Thursday.<strong>


	24. Question of Morality

**Guys guess what? I still don't own Avatar.  
><strong>

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><p>Hakoda walked along the streets of Ba Sing Se with his head turned down to the ground. It wasn't the way the confident Southern Watertribe Chief normally walked but he didn't care. Not after the news he just heard.<p>

He and his fellow warriors had arrived at Ba Sing Se a few hours ago and he had been meeting with the Council of Five ever since his arrival. He already knew how bad things were. Omashu was attacked, King Kuei was murdered…but those were not the things that shocked him. Those weren't the things that nearly broke his heart with worry. The only thing that came out of the meeting with Ba Sing Se's General's was a feeling of desperation.

According to them Katara, his own daughter, was captured a few days ago. What's worse was that no one had any idea what happened to her. Hakoda had taken a small comfort with the knowledge that Aang would never let anyone harm her but when General Howe told him that the Avatar had left days ago to rescue her and that they haven't heard from him since…that did it for Hakoda.

For all he knew, his daughter was dead now.

_And for what? _Hakoda asked himself, _What do these kidnappers want anyway?_

That was the real question and no one knew the answer. In a strange way, Hakoda found it all to be a little funny. The most powerful government in the world had been thrown off guard for months by what might only be a few men. On top of that, no one knew anything about them…except that one of them was a Waterbender.

That had brought Hakoda up short and caused him to stop and think. That meant one of these men was from the watertribes. The Southern Tribe kept track on who would leave the city so Hakoda doubted that it was anyone from his own tribe…unless they had left the tribe long ago. He made a mental note to talk to the Chief Arnook of the Northern Tribe when he arrived here for the meetings that would take place in just a couple of days.

Still, Hakoda couldn't help but think who the mysterious Waterbender could be. He thought back to men he had known over the years. Sure, he knew lots of Waterbenders…but one that could evade and shake up things in the Earth Kingdom? No one he knew of had the experience to do that. Except perhaps one…

_Tau, _the name popped up in Hakoda's mind as he remembered the powerful Waterbender that he had fought alongside with years ago. Hakoda quickly threw that idea away though; he was captured years ago…he was probably long dead by now.

_And all thanks to you_, a voice seemed to whisper in his head and Hakoda felt a sharp guilt enter his heart…a guilt that had not plagued him for years.

Hakoda tried to force those thoughts away from his as well, trying to focus on where he was going. General Howe told him that he would probably find Sokka at the Jasmine Dragon. According to him, Fire Lord Zuko had taken him there yesterday and now Sokka seemed to be there often. It didn't escape Hakoda that Howe had mention Suki as well. He smiled at the one piece of good news he had gotten in the past couple of weeks. At least his son had been reunited with the Kyoshi Warrior again…Ex-Kyoshi Warrior, he corrected himself, remembering what Howe had told him.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a bunch of chatter coming from in front of him and he noticed that he was now standing at the entrance of the Tea shop he had been trying to find. He walked in, gazing around the room, trying to pick his son out of the crown that filled the restaurant. After a few seconds of searching, he spotted him in the far corner, sitting next to Suki. Hakoda walked a little closer, seeing that he was talking to Zuko and Mai as well.

However, whatever conversation they were having was stopped when Sokka spotted him and he perked up instantly.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, getting up to and making his way over to him quickly.

"Sokka it's good to see you," Hakoda greeted, hugging his son tightly.

"You too dad," Sokka replied, before looking down a little regretfully, "Dad…Katara…"

"I know," Hakoda closed his eyes sadly, "Howe told me."

"I'm sorry," Sokka said as he hung his arms at his sides dejectedly.

"Hey," Hakoda put his hand on his son's shoulder reassuringly, "You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Sokka shrugged, clearly not believing him but before Hakoda could say any more, Sokka spoke up again, "Well, um…go ahead and pull up a seat next to our table. Suki's here to."

Hakoda smiled when Sokka's tone became happier when he mentioned her name as he pulled up a seat next to his son's table as they both sat down. He was greeted by the rest of the group. Zuko and Mai bowed their head respectfully while Suki gave him a soft smile.

"It's a pleasure to see you again Chief Hakoda," she said, "It's been a long time."

"It has Suki," Hakoda agreed, "Like I said before though, you can just call me Hakoda. It's nice to see you to…though I suppose my son was probably a lot happier to see you again than I am," he finished casting a sly glance at Sokka, who glared at him in embarrassment as the rest of the table laughed.

Hakoda was about to speak again when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he look up behind him to see non other then General Iroh smiling down at him.

"I didn't expect to see you here Chief Hakoda," he greeted, "What a pleasant surprise."

"General Iroh," Hakoda bowed his head.

"Just call me Iroh," he responded, placing a few cups of tea down on the table for the group, "I stopped being a General long ago."

Once he had placed all the tea cups down on the table, he pulled up a seat to sit with the rest of the group.

"I heard about what happened to your daughter," Iroh addressed Hakoda solemnly, "If there was anything the White Lotus could do…"

"I'm sure everything would turn out alright," Hakoda interrupted, trying to be optimistic.

"Let's hopes so," Iroh nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of the White Lotus though," Suki spoke up, "You guys don't know any more about this whole thing then we do right?"

Iroh nodded, "Believe me, if we knew anything else we would share it. We may be a secret society that likes to keep its head low but we don't keep secrets from the same people we are trying to help. We are scratching our heads just about as much as you are."

"Am I the only one that's surprised that we still don't really know anything about these guys?" Sokka asked, "For some reason I thought we would all be a little more…efficient."

"Well whoever these men are," Iroh replied, "They obviously know what they're doing."

"Well we know one of them is a Waterbender," Mai spoke up for the first time, casting Zuko a smile, "Thanks to this guy."

Zuko rolled his eyes exasperated, "You're never going to let that go are you?"

Mai shook her head, opening her mouth to speak, but Hakoda beat her to it.

"What can you tell me about the waterbender that attacked you?" he asked. Part of him couldn't hold back his curiosity. Who knows, maybe he would know who this guy is if he had a description to go by.

"Well…" Zuko started, narrowing his eyes in thought, "He had tan skin, black hair that was cut really short…blue eyes…that's all I can really say about his appearance."

Hakoda nodded understandably. That description could fit a lot of Watertribe men though…except for the short hair.

"What about his bending though?" Hakoda asked.

"He was powerful," Zuko answered simply with a shrug, "He was drawing waves of water from the air as if it took no effort at all…why?"

Hakoda ignored Zuko's question on why he was asking all this as he got lost in his thoughts. There was only one person that he knew of that had used that waterbending technique…that same person he had just casted off as dead half an hour ago.

_It couldn't really be him could it?_

"Dad?" Sokka questioned, seeing his father in deep though.

"I am assuming you may have an idea of who this guy is?" Iroh guessed.

Hakoda shook his head slowly, "I don't know for sure but there is only one person I have ever heard of that utilizes that waterbending technique. It might be possible it is him."

"Who?" everyone at the table seemed to ask at once curiously.

Hakoda took a deep breath as the memories of the man in question brought back the guilt he had felt before, "Tau."

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><p>They had been flying for days now and they had just reached the southern edges of the Earth Kingdom. According to the charts that he had found in the airship's map room, Tau suspected that they would reach the air temple within the next couple of days. If he was honest with himself, he was actually looking forward to seeing the temple as few people these days have had the privilege to set foot in the Air Nomad ruins. That wasn't the only reason he was anxious about it however…<p>

Their goal was in reach, but Tau knew that he couldn't let his guard down yet. On the small chance that the Avatar was able to escape the desert, Tau knew that his group could run into more trouble. The Avatar knew everything that they did now and if he was able to get that information to any of the world's governments, Tau guessed they wouldn't really last to much longer. Then again, that was why he had sent a letter to the Earth Kingdom government before he had left Ba Sing Se. Hopefully, that note will shake the governments trust in the Avatar and buy them a little more time to free the Yanari.

Tau shook his head as those spirits entered his thoughts again. Sighing, he laid back down on his bed, going over the thoughts that had plagued him the last few days. For the first time, he was beginning to doubt his goals. He wanted to help the world, rid it of evil…that was how he saw it. If he was the one to free the Yanari, then he would think they would help him out of gratitude...right? Then again, the Avatar did tell him they were very dangerous. At first Tau just shrugged it off, assuming that the Avatar was just making a last ditch effort to scare Tau away from completing his goals.

Now though, after he had some time to think, he began to second guess himself a little. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he did release the Yanari…and they didn't help him. If they were as dangerous as the Avatar said they were…what would they do to the world upon their release? For the past few days, Tau had tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. They were so close now; this was not the time to be second guessing.

He hadn't spoken to Sorin or Ryu about his mixed feelings either. He told them everything that the Avatar had about the Yanari, except for their possibly dangerous nature…and he didn't say that he was having doubts. He didn't want them to think he was unsure. If he let that happen, then his leadership will grow weaker and their team would fall apart as a result. So for now, he was keeping quiet about it. He felt he needed to. No matter how good of friends Ryu and Sorin were, he didn't want to risk them doubting his leadership.

He stopped his rampaging thoughts and just laid there on his bed for the next several minutes, letting the calming, quiet air soothe him. Soon though, he heard a couple of knocks on his door, causing him to sit up swiftly as he was pulled out of the haze he had found himself in.

"Tau, its Sorin," he heard the voice say from the other side of the door, "May I come in?"

"Of course," Tau answered sitting up in bed just as his friend opened the door. "What is it?"

"It's more of a status update," Sorin replied, "We've just reached the coast. Ryu is wondering if we should just keep going straight to the air temple."

"I don't see why not," Tau shrugged, "Go ahead and tell him to fly straight on through."

"I think he's worried about any patrols that are scouting the Earth Kingdom boarder," Sorin explained, "Another search party was sent out once Ba Sing Se found out that the Avatar disappeared."

Tau shook his head, "That's way up North though; I don't think they would be sending patrols all the way down here. We don't have anything to worry about."

Sorin nodded agreeably before regarding the Waterbender in front of him skeptically, "Are you sure about that though?"

"Sure about what?"

"That we don't have anything to worry about?" Sorin elaborated.

"Why would we?" Tau countered.

Sorin shrugged, "You've just seemed a little off the past few days…ever since you told Ryu and I about the Yanari."

"Everything's fine," Tau said simply.

"No its not," Sorin shook his head, "Look, you may be good at hiding your emotions when you want to but I've been your friend for years; I know when something is bothering you. What is it?"

"Does it really matter?" Tau gazed at him sharply, somewhat annoyed. He didn't like it when people were able to gain an upper hand on him.

"Not really," Sorin shrugged, looking away from his gaze, "I just have the feeling that you are holding something back from Ryu and I."

Tau sighed. He may as well come out and say it now. Sorin already knew there was some problem so either way there would be some doubt with the group; whether it be his own feelings or the knowledge that the Yanari possessed a certain danger. Still…

"Does Ryu know?" Tau asked.

Sorin shook his head, "I don't think he's noticed."

"Well then don't tell him," Tau said sternly, "But like you said, you've been my friend for years: I suppose you should know about it," Tau gestured at a chair that was placed next to a desk he had in the room, "Go ahead and sit down."

Sorin complied, pulling the chair over a few feet from Tau, who was still sitting on his bed.

"You are right," he began, "I am holding back something from you and Ryu…mostly because I don't even know what to make of it."

"Yeah, because the other stuff you told us made so much sense," Sorin rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Hey, I admit it, all of this is a little weird," Tau shrugged, "But this little piece of information has made me second guess what we are doing."

"What do you mean," Sorin raised his eyebrows.

"We're doing this to get some help…I'm hoping the Yanari would help us rid all of the people in the world that, frankly, should be killed," Tau explained, "but, according to the Avatar, they're dangerous. I'm not sure if he is telling the truth or not but still…it makes me wonder…"

"What would happen if we released them and they weren't quite what we were expecting," Sorin finished his thought.

"Exactly."

"Well I can see why you held that back," Sorin said, "Any doubt would harm our little group, but listen…I've known you for years; I'm not just going to abandon you because of that. You're a strong leader Tau, and I'm going to follow you to the end…no matter what you decide to do. If you want to stop what we are doing right now then I would be fine with that," Sorin paused and frowned slightly, "Even though we have done a lot to get here."

Tau gazed at him, slightly surprised before quickly going back to his normal, calm look, "We're not stopping," he told his friend, "We're going to release them…I think we might need to be a little prepared for some trouble when we do though, just in case."

Sorin nodded slowly, "Like I said, I'm behind you every step of the way. I won't mention this to Ryu but if he did know, he would probably say the same thing I did."

"You think so?" Tau raised an eyebrow, "You and I were friends before all of this started. Ryu and I are friends because of it."

"Even so," Sorin replied, leaning back in his chair, "We have followed you for months. I think it would take a lot more than a small bit of doubt to get Ryu to back out on this…especially now."

"I might tell him," Tau conceded, "But in my own time. For now, just tell him to continue onwards to the air temple."

"Will do," Sorin stood up, moving the chair that he was sitting on back over to the desk before walking to the door leading out of the room.

"I'll come up there with you guys in a few minutes," Tau told him as he left and he just heard Sorin hum in acknowledgment.

Once he was alone, Tau sat back against the back of the bed, one of his hands creeping up to grasp the necklace that hung around his neck.

It was strange. There seemed to be some sort of energy coming from it that seemed to weigh down on him. There were times when he felt like he was connected to Avatar Kuruk through the necklace. The necklace would become lighter or heavier at times. At first he just thought it was his imagination but then he began to suspect something else. This was Kuruk's necklace…maybe a part of his spirit was connected to it. A few years back he had begun to entertain the idea that the emotional state of Kuruk's spirit, wherever he was in the spirit world, was related to how the necklace felt to Tau at the time. Tau suspected that when the necklace felt light, then Kuruk was happy so would heavier be the emotional opposite of that: sad, angry? He guessed that was what it was but the necklace felt heavier than normal, heavier than it had ever been. What was happening to Kuruk now?

Tau shrugged it off. It's not like it really hurt his wellbeing in any way and it wasn't like there was anything he could do to help Kuruk. Still though, the fact that the necklace was heavier than usual…it made him wonder what exactly Kuruk was doing that was out of the ordinary.

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><p>Ghashuin stood beside the pilot of the sand-sailor he was on. The pilot was bending sand in the form of a tornado in front of them which was what allowed the craft to go in the direction they needed as the tornado kept the sails up. Looking around, he saw a few other of his fellow sandbenders standing around the rear platform of the sailor with him. Furthermore, two more additional sailors were following right behind his sand-sailor, each filled with about five or so other sandbenders.<p>

They were just patrolling the area, as they often did. This was their desert and as far as they were concerned, it was theirs to protect. However, their patrols never really came across much. What was there to come across? Sand dune after sand dune with a few cactuses thrown in: that didn't really leave for much exploration.

Needless to say, everyone seemed to just be going with the flow of things. Everyone was taking on a relaxed posture, no one was alert. Even the sandbender standing next to Ghashuin, idly looking through the spyglass he held, seemed to be going through the motions.

Ghashuin couldn't blame any of them. Though this was their desert, he couldn't help but feel that his father, Sha-Mo, put too much effort in sending out patrols. It was ridiculous how often he would want a few sand sailors to just go out and search the desert for a few hours. He argued with his father about it before but of course that didn't get anywhere. His relationship with his father was okay at best, but mostly, it was nearly insufferable.

_And the fact I stole the Avatar's bison a few years back didn't help our relationship much either, _Ghashuin thought to himself.

Unfortunately, after that little incident, his father had kept a very watchful eye on him, His days as a thief had been pretty much over at that point: which led him to the job he was doing now; patrolling a nearly endless desert for hours on end. It was a good thing he was used to the suns burning heat or else these patrols would be a lot worse.

He just wished something would happen. _Anything_.

"Ghashuin?"

He turned at the questioning sound of his name to see the sandbender, Solu, holding the spyglass out to him to take.

"Did you find anything?" Ghashuin asked as he took the spyglass from Solu's hands, his heart leaping at the idea that they might be at the start of something interesting.

"Maybe, it's a little too far from us for me to recognize it though," Solu answered, nodding his head, which was surrounded by the typical head coverings that sandbenders wore, off to the right of the sand-sailor, "Take a look for yourself."

Ghashuin turned to where Solu had nodded at and brought the spyglass up to one of his eyes, closing his other one so he could see through the device more clearly. He looked through it for a few moments, scanning the area he was looking at, trying to find what Solu was talking about. He was about to give up but right when he was about to put the spyglass down he spotted something off in the distance. At this range, it really just looked like a black dot but who knows; maybe they could be on to something.

He moved the spyglass off to his eye and handed it back to Solu, nodding at him, "You're right. I can't tell what it is but there definitely is something over there."

"Think we should check it out?" Solu questioned, looking off through the spyglass again towards the object he had spotted.

Ghashuin shrugged, "Why not? If anything it would give us something to do."

The other sandbenders on the sailor instantly perked up as Ghashuin gave the driver the order to head towards what they had spotted. One of the sandbenders walked towards the back of the sailor to make hand motions to the two sand-sailors following them. The sandbender waved his hand and then pointed off to the right, motioning the two sailors to follow them. The three sailors seemed to turn simultaneously towards their target as Ghashuin kept his eyes in front of them; eager to see what they had spotted.

He could hardly keep the smirk from his face. They might actually be on to something. If nothing else, they would have something productive to be doing for the next few minutes.

"Bodies?" he heard Solu question from behind him.

Ghashuin turned around curiously, "What?"

"Bodies," Solu said again, eye still on the spyglass, "It's becoming a little clearer now as we get closer and it looks like a couple of bodies."

Ghashuin raised an eyebrow, "Well that's a little odd. Can you tell who they are?"

Solu was silent for a few moments before shaking his head, "No but it looks like one of them has some watertribe clothing and the other looks like its wearing orange cloths."

Ghashuin's eyes widened. Orange cloths weren't exactly the most common thing that people wore as far as he knew. The only person he saw wearing that was, "The Avatar?"

"You think that is who it is?" Solu asked.

"I'm willing to bet on it," Ghashuin shrugged before shaking his head slowly, "Man, he won't be happy to see us, especially me."

Solu knew what his leader was talking about, how he had stolen the Avatar's bison. Instead of bringing that up he decided to calm Ghashuin's nerves a little, "Actually, I don't think you have to worry about him at all…he looks dead…so does the other person he is with."

"Dead?" Ghashuin questioned, getting a nod from Solu before ordering, "Let me see that thing."

Solu handed the spyglass over to him so he could see for himself. Looking through the object, Ghashuin sucked in a breath when he spotted two bodies, one lying on top of the other, that looked pretty much how Solu had described them: dead.

From what he could see, the Avatar's body was on the bottom and the body lying on top of him looked like that of a girl. He could only assume it was the Waterbender that had been travelling with the Avatar a couple years back.

_I wonder how they got back here._

He handed the spyglass back to Solu as the trio of sand-sailors came up to the bodies, coming to a halt a few dozen feet away from them. Ghashuin, Solu, and a few other sandbenders hopped off of the sailors while a few others stayed behind to guard their means of transportation. Ghashuin led the group up to the two bodies until he was standing over them.

"It is the Avatar!" Solu said in surprise as he noticed the blue arrow tattoo on the boy's forehead.

Ghashuin nodded, not really wanting to speak much at the moment. Sure, he wouldn't exactly call the Avatar, nor the Waterbender, his friends but still…he was the Avatar. He felt like he had to help…if they were even alive that is. He was already thinking the worst case scenario but he knelt down to check their pulse anyway. He placed a couple of fingers where the pulse would be on their neck and to his surprise, he could feel something, but it was faint. Very faint. If they didn't get help soon, their pulses won't be there for that much longer.

"They're still alive," Ghashuin told the rest of the sandbenders, standing back up and looking down at the bodies worriedly.

"What do you think happened?" one of the sandbenders asked.

"It could be anything really," Ghashuin answered, his eyes still on the two bodies before him as he played out different scenarios in his head from what this could all lead to.

"I'm willing to bet starvation, dehydration, heat exhaustion…take your pick," Solu stated, eyes also on the bodies.

"Well there is not really too much else out here that could put them in this state," Ghashuin said before taking on a determined face and turning to face the rest of the sandbenders that were awaiting his orders, "They will be gone for good soon if we don't help them. Let's get them back to the sand-sailors and head back to camp."

A few sandbenders quickly followed his command as they moved forward, bent down, and picked up the watertribe girl's body and began to walk back to one of the sand-sailors.

_Katara_, Ghashuin remembered, _her name was Katara._

He watched as a few more sandbenders stepped forward to pick up the Avatar's body and they followed in the same footsteps in the men that took Katara away. Ghashuin followed them, with Solu in tow, each not quite believing that they had found the Avatar, of all people, on the brink of death.

"We're going straight back to camp then?" Solu asked, "We should still be on patrol for a couple more hours."

Ghashuin shook his head, "My father will understand. We can't let the Avatar die on our watch, not if we were able to save him…and the watertribe girl."

"I didn't know you cared so much," Solu casted him a glance, stopping when they reached their sandsailor.

Ghashuin rolled his eyes before climbing up onto the sand-sailor, "I could really care less about them, but he's the Avatar…it wouldn't do us any good if people found out we just let him die…not to mention what my father would think. He would never let me hear the end of it."

He paused for a few moments until Solu was able to follow him to the top of the sailor, "I'm just trying to save my own skin. I can't let the Avatar die but at the same time, if I let that watertribe girl die, that boy will be at my throat when he wakes up," he shrugged nonchalantly, "I'd rather just stay on everybody's good side right now."

"You never have been very sympathetic," Solu laughed.

"And I'm not going to start now," Ghashuin answered, his arms leaning on one of the railings of the sailor as they took off towards the camp.

Silence hung over the three sand-sailors after that as they glided across the sand dunes. It would take them at least half an hour to get back to camp and Ghashuin wondered if the Avatar and the Watertribe girl would even make it for that much longer. They would have to get medical attention immediately when they got back. Unfortunately, Ghashuin knew that his people weren't the best medics but at the same time, no one knew how to deal with dehydration better than they did. Whatever happened to them, at least Ghashuin knew that no one would be giving him a hard time for trying to save them at the very least.

Ghashuin looked back behind him, seeing the bodies of the two benders laying side by side on one of the sailors following his own and he laughed to himself.

_Wait till father gets a load of this._

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><p><strong>See guys...Aang and Katara are fine...kind of. Nothing to fret about.:)<strong>

**Anyways, this chapter was interesting to write**_, _**mostly because it was different. Aang and Katara weren't really in it and I haven't read any fics that take place from the point of view from the sandbenders so consequently, writing things from Ghashuin's perspective was fun.**

**As always, next chapter will be up Monday...and I also have a special announcement to make at the end of chapter 25.**_  
><em>


	25. Recovery

**I don't own Avatar**

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><p>"There it is," Ryu stated, slowing down the airship a little as they moved closer to their destination, "The Southern Air Temple."<p>

Tau and Sorin looked up from their seats, seeing the temple appear out of the mists of the mountains, and both of their mouths fell open in awe. It wasn't everyday someone saw one of the Air Temples and Tau had to admit, it was very impressive.

Part of Tau wished he had seen the temple before the airbenders had been cut down to all but one. The place must have been a beautiful thing to see back in that time. Sure, it was still a wonderful site to behold but the temple clearly had war written all over it. It looked like it went through…well, exactly what it had gone through. It looked, dull, barren, but majestic at the same time.

Tau found it hard to believe that humans alone could have built something like this thousands of years ago, especially so high up in the Patola Mountain Range. Part of him wondered if there were some other forces at play that led to the air temple's construction. He was even a little curious now as to what the other air temples looked like.

Still, once he got passed the site of the Air Temple, Tau remembered the secret it held: the Yanari.

He was sure that the Avatar didn't tell him everything, only what he needed to. The things that the Avatar held back from him were obvious however. Clearly, part of the reason this temple was built was to hide the Yanari from everyone. Tau knew that much. He was sure there were some other details that he was missing that the Avatar had been told but he found that irrelevant. He knew what he needed to know.

"Wow, I didn't expect anything quite like this," Sorin spoke up at last.

"What were you expecting then?" Ryu breathed in a deep sigh, clearly not really fascinated with the temple as much as his two companions were, "It's just a large building on a mountain."

"Honestly, I was expecting a pile of rubble," Sorin answered, eyes still on the temple in front of them as the airship continued closer.

"Well we better hope all of it is in decent shape, at least the top of the central spire," Tau finally spoke up, "If that's gone we've reached a dead end."

"Well the spire looks intact," Ryu said, his eyes squinting slightly as he tried to look closer, "As long as the inside of the spire isn't damaged I would say that we have nothing to worry about."

"I'm more worried about finding that dumb necklace," Sorin rolled his eyes, "Didn't every monk have one of those things?"

"The elder ones at least, why?" Tau asked.

"Well they're just a pile of bones now," Sorin explained, "How do we know which is the guy that wears this magical necklace that we need?"

"Well, for one," Tau started, "The necklace isn't 'magical. Most likely it is just holding something inside of it and we could easily cut through the necklace with our bending to get to it," Tau waved his hand briefly in front of him to mimic a waterbending motion, "And two, the Avatar said the body was at the base of the air temple…so that narrows down the search a little bit at least."

"So we're still going to have to dig through a whole bunch of bones," Sorin deadpanned.

"Probably," Tau shrugged.

Sorin sighed, and rested his head on one of his hands, elbow resting on his chairs armrest as sarcasm dripped from his voice, "Great."

"Well we are nearly at the temple," Ryu interjected in the conversation, "Tau, where do you want me to land this thing?"

Tau was quite for a few moments as he stood up from his chair, walked over to the window and regarded the temple in front of him speculatively, "See if you can dock us on the top of the central spire. We don't know if there is a staircase going up there."

"Why wouldn't there be?" Ryu asked raising his eyebrows.

Tau shrugged, and turned back around, "Airbenders lived here. They could just fly up if they wanted to."

Ryu nodded accepting the answer but Sorin glanced at Tau questionabley for a moment but he didn't say anything. Tau knew what he was thinking though. If the Yanari really were dangerous, the place that someone could free them from would have probably been located in a place that few people could get to. Sure, he supposed the air temple was difficult enough, but having no staircase, thereby only letting an airbender up there, might have been something that was designed to help keep the Yanari locked away. Maybe it might have been built that way whether the Yanari were dangerous or not.

Tau knew he was merely speculating but just to be on the safe side, they may as well try landing the airship at the top of the temple.

"Well we're in luck," Ryu spoke up, making the airship hover right next to the top of the central spire, "It looks like there is a walkway jutting out from all sides of the top, surrounding the room that must be holding the podium that will release these Yanari things."

"I don't think a walkway is an ideal place to land an airship on," Tau stated, looking out the window to see what Ryu was talking about. There were many rather large doors leading inside to what was probably the room holding the podium and surrounding the enclosed room, there was a small walkway that was probably there for the airbenders to land on when they flew up.

_That only proves my no staircase theory even more, _Tau thought.

"Well, if Sorin is willing to take control of this thing, I'd be willing to go down there and extend part of that walkway out further with a little earthbending," Ryu said, glancing over at Sorin expectantly.

"Yeah, okay, I'll do it," Sorin conceded standing up from his chair to take Ryu's place in the pilot's seat, "Just go do your thing."

"Wait until I give you the signal before you land," Ryu said, walking out the door.

"What's the…signal," Sorin nearly muttered the last word once he realized Ryu had left, "That's helpful."

Tau snorted from his spot over at the window, a little amused, "I'm sure he'll make it pretty obvious for us."

Sorin shrugged but didn't say anything as Tau looked out the window. Sorin hovered the airship closer to the central spire to make things a little easier for Ryu when he was ready to jump onto it and a few moments later, Tau saw the earthbender land on the walkway. He saw Ryu plant his feet on the ground and shoot his hands out and part of the walkway suddenly extended outwards. Satisfied with his work Ryu turned and waved at them.

"Well that must be the signal," Tau muttered before speaking up, "Okay Sorin, go ahead and land it…nice and slow."

Sorin nodded, as all of his concentration went to landing the airship on the small platform that Ryu had created. It took a couple of minutes, and a few attempts, but he was finally able to make a solid landing with a gentle _thump _coming from the bottom of the ship.

"Now," Tau turned around and smiled at Sorin, clearly pleased, "Let's get out there and see what's inside."

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><p><em>Katara looked around curiously, suddenly finding herself back at her own home: the Southern Watertribe. She was standing in the middle of one of the streets, the icy buildings that the watertribe featured were lined up, nearly wall to wall, off to her side; just like they should be. Everything seemed normal except that a feeling in Katara told her that it wasn't.<em>

_Something was wrong. How did she even get here? Last thing she remembered was being in the desert and Aang…she remembered watching him die…or at least she thought he died. Part of her remembered following in his footsteps a few moments after so did that mean she was dead as well? Part of her came to the conclusion that this must be the spirit world but that just didn't seem to fit with her. The spirit world wouldn't have an exact replica of her home._

_Curiously, she walked forward, still trying to figure out how she got here. She was in the desert…and now she was in the environment opposite of that. That thought brought another irregularity to her mind. It should be cold…but it wasn't. She couldn't feel any heat either._

_She turned a corner and began walking down another street, still lost in her thoughts. What if this was the spirit world and the spirits had built a replica of the physical world for the spirits of the dead to live in. If that was true though, Katara thought that there would be some more people, or spirits, here besides her._

_That suddenly stopped her thinking. Besides the icy structures around her, this place was empty, no sign of anything else anywhere. She thought back, remembering to other times were she had found herself in a similar situation. Her dreams, or possibly visions, that had those black, red eyed creatures in them. Part of her shivered at the thought of seeing those things again, but she quickly held those fears back, remembering that she had told Aang that she would deal with this._

_Her heart suddenly fell, the red eyed creatures forgotten and the only thought on her mind was her soul mate, which for all she knew, was dead. She could hardly bear that thought. Her footsteps started to slow, not having the motive to walk any further. It was pretty clear to her now that this wasn't the spirit world which meant that she was alive…which also meant she was living without Aang._

_Suddenly however, a bright light flashed in front of her and her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. Aang seemed to materialize right in front of her. He was sitting in a lotus position on the ground and his tattoos glowed, just like they did when he was in the spirit world. Normally Katara would be worried about him being there but right now, she could care less. All that mattered was that he was here, his body at least, and that meant he was alive with her._

"_Aang!" she cried happily, sprinting over to him even though it was only a few feet. She fell to his side, her arms coming around his body. She was content to just sit like this and wait for him to come back, nothing else mattered to her._

_Her sudden happiness was crushed as quickly as it came though as dozens of high pitched screeches filled the air. She let go of Aang and stood up, looking around, expecting to find the dark creatures staring at her from someplace but they weren't there. She could still hear them though and the screeching got louder, telling her that they were getting closer. She was suddenly reminded that this wasn't real. These things were just from her dreams…which also meant that Aang was. For all she knew, he could be dead after all._

_Any sadness that Katara would have felt however was replaced by fear as a rumbling sound could be heard somewhere close to her. Next thing she knew, the icy buildings around her shattered into millions of snow flakes, leaving her in a cold empty plain. Her breathing picked up at the site of her home being destroyed so quickly, there wasn't even any trace of it._

_She looked around her in all directions, seeing the black creatures hovering a few feet off the ground. She was surrounded. Then, like the buildings, the ground around her seemed to shatter, all off the ice falling into the ocean that was revealed hundreds of feet below, leaving her on a small, icy island. The creatures though, they didn't seem fazed by any of it. They just floated in place, their red eyes piercing into her._

_Katara felt herself becoming desperate. She began to turn around to where Aang's body had been, expecting to get help but getting quite the opposite. His tattoos and eyes that had been glowing blue, now glowed at deep red. She gasped as she back away from him, stopping when she nearly stepped off the island she was on. She had never been afraid of him before but now, as he slowly walked over to her menacingly, she was terrified of him._

"_Aang pl-"_

_She was cut off when one of his hands shot up and gripped her throat tightly, his hand clenching around her so she couldn't breathe. He lifted her a few inches off the ground as her legs began to kicking in the air frantically as she tried to get some air into her lungs. Her hands came up to her neck in an attempt to pry his hand off her but it was useless. He wouldn't budge. Her whole body squirmed as she tried to escape his grip, her vision starting to go black._

_Her whole body became still a few moments later as she lost the energy to fight back. Her vision was fading, everything had become blurry and the hand on her throat seemed to tighten. All she could see was Aang's glowing red eyes that just kept gazing at her and she barely registered the dark creatures that had begun to move closer to her…_

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><p>Katara opened her eyes quickly, taking in a deep breath before trying to control her rapid breathing. From what she could tell, she was lying in some medium sized tent with a blanket draped over her. She attempted to sit up only to immediately fall back down to lie on her back as a wave of dizziness shot through her.<p>

She brought a hand up to her forehead, which oddly seemed to take a lot of effort, and rubbed it as if she were trying to purge the dizziness from her head.

She couldn't really tell where she was, the only thing from the outside she could see was a sliver of sunlight that was shining through the tents entrance, which was really just a flap hanging down from the top. She could hear movement going on outside the tent but she didn't even attempt to get up to see what it was. She was too tired…she could hardly care less on where she was at the moment.

Then, everything seemed to click in her head. She was alive. She didn't know how but she had managed to survive and get to…well, wherever she was right now. She was overcome with a feeling of relief for a brief moment before a wave of worry hit her. What about Aang? What if he didn't make it? She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to deny the possibility to herself. She turned to lie on her side and clutched the blanket closer to her, trying to tell herself that he was okay. As it turned out, she didn't need to tell herself that for when she opened her eyes after a few moments, he was right there, laying just a few feet away from her on the other side of the tent. It was then, for the first time, she noticed that the sound of his gentle breathing filled the tent.

She smiled and sighed in relief once again, all the worry leaving her. She didn't lose him, he was still right here with her. She was overcome with the urge to be closer to him, to hold him in a need to reassure herself that he was really there. She pushed the blanket off of her and tried to sit up again. The dizziness from before returned but she was determined and she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind. She didn't attempt to stand up; a part of her told her she didn't have the energy to do that, so instead she began to crawl over to his prone body. She only made one movement forwards though when she heard someone open the flap of the tent and she turned to see a man ducking inside.

"Oh, well it's good to see that at least one of you is finally awake," he smiled, and she noticed that he was carrying a tray of food and water in his hands.

Katara sat back down where she had been laying and regarded the man curiously with a tilt of her head. She recognized him a little but his name escaped her mind. He had black hair, a short cut beard, and part of his head was bald.

"You don't remember me do you?" He asked, setting the tray on the ground and taking a seat a couple of feet away from her, "My name is Sha-Mo…my sandbenders and I helped you and your friends get out of the desert a couple of years ago."

Katara instantly remembered after hearing that and she nodded, "And your son was the one that stole Appa right?"

"Well…yes," Sha-Mo answered a little regretfully, "But hopefully that is behind us now. My son, despite what you and the Avatar may think of him, is actually the only reason you are alive right now."

"I'm afraid I can't really recall any rescue or something," Katara admitted, "Last I remember was Aang passing out."

"That's understandable, considering the condition that Ghashuin had found you two in," Sha-Mo nodded understandingly, "He found you both unconscious in the middle of our desert. I must say, you two are very lucky to be alive. We've seen plenty of cases of victims suffering from dehydration and starvation and many of them don't make it once they reach the point that you had reached."

"Were we really that close to dying?" Katara asked, her eyes widening in surprise a little, "I mean, I was a little out of it but I felt like I could have continued on if Aang hadn't…" She drew off and fell into silence and Sha-Mo waited a couple of seconds before speaking up again.

"It's amazing what some people can do if they have the will to survive…I suppose you lost that when he fell unconscious," Sha-Mo guessed.

Katara gave him a short nod and glance over at her soul mate longingly, "I thought he had died."

A brief sympathetic expression rose to Sha-Mo's face before he continued what he had been saying before, "Anyway, if Ghashuin had brought you to back any later, I suspect neither of you would have made it," he paused before adding, "We had trouble ensuring the Avatar's survival. You were easy to stabilize."

Katara's head suddenly perked up, her voice quivering a little, "Wait, is he okay? He looks fine now."

"He'll live," Sha-Mo assured, "But there was a time when we thought that we wouldn't be able to save him. Force feeding can only do so much. There's a point when that's not enough to keep a starving person alive. Just expect him to be very weak when he wakes up."

Katara nodded and eyed the tray that had been sitting on the floor, "Is that…"

"For you? Yes," he answered, picking up the tray and handing it to her, "Don't think just because you're awake means you still don't need to recover. Both you and the Avatar will need to eat a lot for the next few days."

Katara hummed in agreement as she started eating.

"Good news is," Sha-Mo said, "If you're up, I suspect he will be to in a few hours."

Katara couldn't help but smile after hearing that. She _needed _to see Aang's eyes open again. For now though, she supposed the gentle feel of his spirit inside of her from their connection would have to be enough.

"So," Katara started, pausing from the food she was eating, "How long have we been here…and where is here exactly?"

"Ghashuin brought you two back…almost two days ago," Sha-Mo responded, "And you are at our main camp."

Katara nodded, not all that surprised by the answer as she had expected as much but she noticed that the man sitting next to her was looking at her questionably.

"If you don't mind me asking," he began, "What are you and the Avatar doing here?"

"It's a long story," Katara answered simply, not really feeling like having to explain everything.

"I understand, you don't have to answer. You're business is your business," Sha-Mo nodded, "However, do you need us to send a letter to anyone that can come get you out of here…does anyone even know that you're here?"

"Not anyone that cares about us knows where we are," Katara told him, knowing that there was no way the Sokka would know of her current situation, "But my brother is in Ba Sing Se. He could bring Appa here to pick us up if you can get a message out to him."

"Very well," Sha-Mo said, standing up, "I'll send a messenger out as soon as I can but it may take a couple days to get there."

"That's fine, like you said, Aang and I still need to recover anyway," Katara assured, receiving an approving nod from him.

"If you need anything, I'll be back to check on you in a few hours," Sha-Mo said, before stepping outside of the tent and leaving her alone with Aang's sleeping form.

Katara sighed and set the tray off to the side after she finished her food, making sure that she left some for Aang when he awoke, and finally did what she had been attempting to do when Sha-Mo had walked in.

With a little effort, she crawled over to Aang and laid down next to him, taking him into her arms as if to protect him from the death that they had both nearly faced. Her cheek rested on top of his head and she heard him murmur something in his sleep which brought a small smile to her.

Katara held him tighter as one of her hands stroked the back of his head and she felt her heart leap when he snuggled closer to her in response.

_Everything is going to be okay, _she tried to tell him mentally through their connection, remembering the time in Ba Sing Se, before her capture by Tau, that she had felt like she was able to read his thoughts, _We're okay now._

To her surprise, he seemed to have gotten the message for a small smile suddenly appeared on his face. Of course, Katara knew that it might just be coincidence, but she couldn't hold back the possibility.

She suddenly yawned as she felt herself beginning to drift off into sleep again but she forced herself to stay awake. She wanted to be here when Aang awoke, she could deal with sleep later.

She tried to occupy herself by thinking of everything that had been happening recently. To her surprise though, she found she really didn't care about any of it; her anger at Tau and her dad…the Yanari's possible release…all of that seemed irrelevant to her now at the moment. She couldn't do anything about those things at the moment anyway.

No matter what she thought about, her thoughts always found their way back to Aang. Consequently, she also had thought about what he had done in her dream. She knew Aang would never actually do that to her but it still made her shiver. Like everything else though, she pushed that thought in the back of her mind. She would talk to him about it once they were both recovered.

Katara didn't know how long she had been lying in the tent holding him but she assumed it must have at least been an hour. She continued to wait patiently for him to awake though and thankfully, she didn't have to wait much longer.

A few minutes later, she felt him suddenly stir in her arms, and she pulled away from him slightly to allow him to move a little while she took the chance to take a good look at him. She saw his eyes blink rapidly as he tried to adjust them to the light but moments later, his eyes focused on hers. They simply smiled at each other, neither knowing quite what to say.

After many seconds of staring into those soft grey eyes of his that where gazing back at her lovingly, she couldn't hold herself back anymore. Her head leaned forwards the few inches it needed to and they're lips met for the first time in what felt like ages. The kiss was soft and simple but it felt like so much more to each of them. Katara felt Aang's arms come around her to pull her a little closer, and she responded by tightening her own arms around him. Their legs where tangled under the blanket that was still draped over them, but neither of them cared because the contact between them just assured them even more that they still had the other.

After what might have been minutes, they broke the kiss and rested their foreheads against each other, letting their breaths mingle in the couple inches of space between them. They're eyes, which had closed at some point during their kiss, slowly opened again to meet each other's gaze.

Katara could feel one of his hands running through her hair as her own hand rubbed the back of his head. His head tilted slightly with the intention to give her a quick peck on the lips but Katara moved her head towards him in response, deepening and prolonging the simple contact. Nothing else mattered to her right now and the only thing on her mind was him; his touch, his scent…everything that he was doing.

Aang broke the kiss as one of his hands weakly reached up to cup her cheek, stroking it with his thumb gently.

"Hey," he finally spoke up for the first time.

Katara smiled at the sound of his voice filling her ears once again, "Hey."

It was a simple exchanged of words but it seemed to satisfy each of them. Aang continued to stroke her face with his hand, and she simply laid there and reveled in his touch that she had desired so much ever since she had woken up a few hours ago.

After a few minutes, he stopped, detangled himself from her, and tried to sit up but he was obviously having a lot of difficulty doing it. Immediately catching on to his struggle, Katara quickly sat up next to him and helped him sit beside her. Her hands grasped his shoulders to steady him as she pulled him upright and she was earned with a grateful smile.

Suddenly his hand clutched his stomach and she could hear it rumbling loudly. She turned around and reached for the tray that she had set aside and handed it to him so he could eat the remaining food.

"Here take this," she told him softly, her voice taking on its motherly tone, "You need to eat."

Aang gladly took the tray from her and set it on his lap, very grateful when he noticed that Katara had saved him the vegetables. He took a few quick bites until he noticed Katara just sitting their gazing at him with a smile on her face.

"What?" he questioned, pausing his eating frenzy for a few seconds.

"I'm just glad you're alive," she answered simply, her gaze not braking away from him, "I love you."

He smiled back, "I love you to," he told her, his voice full of affection as reaching his hand out to squeeze hers gently before reaching for some more food, "I'm glad you're okay to. I thought that…"

Katara shook her head before he could say anymore, noticing that his voice still sounded a little hoarse, "We're safe now at the sandbenders camp. We don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Sandbenders?" Aang questioned.

Katara nodded, "They're the ones that saved us Aang. The found us and brought us back here."

Aang didn't say anything to that, not knowing quite what to think. On one hand, they had stolen Appa before and that was something he would never forget, but now they had saved him. More importantly to him, they had saved Katara.

"I guess they're not quite as bad as we though," he finally said.

Katara just hummed in agreement as she continued to watch him finish his food. Suddenly, he seemed troubled and if the expression on his face hadn't told her that, his raging emotions did. She couldn't tell what he was thinking either but it obviously wasn't good.

He set his tray aside once he was finished eating and folded his hands in his lap as he gazed down at them.

"Aang?" she questioned in concern, reaching her hand out to place on his shoulder but stopped when he suddenly spoke up in a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry Katara," he quivered and for the first time, she noticed that he was crying, a few tears dripped down onto his lap.

Katara quickly scooted over to him and took him in her arms. His head rested on the crook of her neck and his body seemed to mold into her as he tried to press himself as close to her as possible. She shifted to she was sitting with her legs crossed and moved him so he was partly placed on her lap as she held his shaking body worriedly. He was crying harder than he had before and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why.

"You don't have to be sorry about anything Aang," she finally said, "What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't have given up like that, I should have tried harder to stay alive," he sobbed into her throat, his voice muffled a little, "I left you all alone. I'm so sorry."

Katara instantly knew what he was talking about; his near death in the desert. She wasn't sure what was worse, that…or seeing him getting struck down by Azula all those years ago. At least back then she didn't have to feel him nearly die in her arms. Feeling the life slowly fade from him as it did a couple of days ago had been too much for her…and Aang seemed to know it.

"You don't have to be sorry about that," she assured him, nuzzling her head against the top of his, "We're both okay now and that is all that matters."

"But I hurt you," Aang argued, letting out another choked sob, "I know I did…especially since our connection probably almost vanished…I can't even imagine what that did to you."

Katara sucked in a breath and held him tighter as she remembered that feeling of emptiness. It had terrified her and it had essentially taken out any fight that she had left. She had felt so lost…

"I won't lie to you Aang," she whispered, one of her hands moving to grasp his hand, "It was terrifying and it's something that I would never want to feel again…I felt like I lost part of my mind. It's not your fault though. You did all you could."

"But I could have…"

"No Aang," Katara interrupted, "You can only do so much. Everyone needs food and water to keep them alive, you're no exception. We both tried our hardest to stay alive and there is nothing else to it okay? I don't blame you for anything and you shouldn't blame yourself."

He was quiet for a few moments as he took in what she said. In the mean time, she just rocked him back and forth in her arms until his cries subsided. Finally, he pulled away from her to meet her gaze, his eyes bloodshot from his tears.

"Okay Katara," he conceded, his face taking on a determined expression, "But I promise that you won't have to go through that ever again."

Katara smiled and reached her hands out to wipe the few remaining tears from his cheeks before pulling him in for a tight embrace and resting her head on his shoulder, whispering into his ear, "And I promise you the same."

He smiled in response and nuzzled his head into her neck, planting a soft kiss there. The couple was content to stay in the comforting embrace for quite some time with only one thing on their mind.

They still had each other.

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><p><strong>Okay there is chapter 25. As always review and chapter 26 will be up Thursday.<strong>

**However I do have a special announcement to make**.** I have some kind of bad news and some good news.**

**The 'somewhat' bad news is that this fic is coming to an end. The final chapter count looks like it is going to be 32 chapters.**

**The good news is...sequels. This fic has two of them so the overall story is still far from over. I will reveal more information on the sequels once this fic is finished but for now...just know that I will be writing the two sequels. I do want to make it clear though. This fic doesn't have sequels because people liked this fic so I decided to expand it. Ever since this idea popped in my head I knew it was going to be a trilogy...essentially Books 4,5, and 6. So the sequels aren't going to be some weak, half-attempted thing that I'm doing just to keep writing. This fic was essentially one big fic that I decided to split up into 3 parts so the quality of the sequels will be just the same as this one if not better. I know when most people here the word sequel they all roll their eyes and go 'oh great, just what we needed' in a sarcastic voice. I just want to say that there is no reason to think that.:)**


	26. Lost and Found

**I don't own Avatar**

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><p>Tau pushed the doors open as Sorin and Ryu fell into step behind him. Tau didn't know what he was expecting to see when they finally entered the room at the top of the Southern Air Temple's central spire but he was a little underwhelmed. He supposed part of him was expecting Air Nomad paintings all over the walls or some statues of important people from the culture but instead the room was just…empty, with just a plain stone floor and walls, and the only light that lit the room came from the few windows towards the top. Tau also noticed that there didn't appear to be a staircase leading back down to the rest of the temple, which confirmed his theory that the only way to get up here was to fly.<p>

At the same time though, it was fairly large. A large crowd of at least one hundred people could have gathered here and the ceiling was nearly fifty feet above him. Still though, the emptiness just felt odd to Tau. However, while that did not meet his expectations, what he saw in the middle of the room did. It was the only thing in the room and it was right where the Avatar had told him it would be.

He barely registered Ryu and Sorin closing the doors behind them as he gazed at the object that he saw at the center of the room. The podium that the Avatar had been talking about was elevated from the rest of the floor by a platform. A dozen stairs surrounded it from all sides allowing anyone to simply walk up to the podium.

Tau walked closer, hearing his companion's footsteps behind him as they followed and as he got closer, he realized the podium itself wasn't all that big. It was no taller than four feet. He reached the base of the staircase, and slowly began to walk up it. He reached the top where there was a small space on all sides to stand around the podium and he stood there looking down at it. Sorin and Ryu joined him, standing across from him on the other side of the object.

"No one really ever bothered to clean the thing did they?" Sorin questioned upon noticing all the dust that had gathered on the top of the podium.

"Having no one alive to clean it would usually result in that," Ryu deadpanned.

Tau ran his hand across the top of it and sure enough, there was a clear streak where his hand had run across as the dust had been moved. Tau gazed at the dusty surface thoughtfully before gathering some water out of the air and slowly moving it across the top of the podium to clean it off before discarding the water.

"There, good as new," he stated, noticing a small circular indent that was revealed on the top of the podium after he had cleared away all the dust.

"You think that is where we insert whatever object we end up needing?" Ryu asked, also seeing the small indent.

"Probably," Tau answered, placing his hand in the small circle, "It seems like something is definitely supposed to be placed inside of here."

"And then what?" Sorin asked, looking up to gaze at Tau from across the podium, "This thing just splits open and outcome the Yanari?"

Tau regarded the podium again thoughtfully before shaking his head, "I don't think so. The podium is built into the floor here so I don't think it would be able to open up or anything like that. Placing the object into the podium must release the Yanari some other way."

"Like what?" Sorin raised his eyebrows.

"How would I know?" Tau shrugged before giving his companions a small smile, "But we'll find out soon. We know the podium is here and we know the object that Monk Gyatso's necklace is holding is a circular shape. I think it's time we start looking for it. It might take us a few days."

He turned away from the podium to walk back down the steps as Ryu and Sorin followed him.

"Well not to be a pessimist," Ryu started as he followed Tau back outside to the walkway surrounding the room, "But there isn't exactly any way to get down from here. It's fairly obvious that there are not any staircases leading up here and having to fly the airship up and down isn't exactly efficient."

"Well that's why we have you Ryu," Tau said, glancing down the edge of the walkway to the rest of the temple that was a couple hundred feet below, "You can use your earthbending to detach part of the walkway from the wall and we can use it to move down there," Tau paused for a second as he partially began to second guess himself, "You would be able to do that right?"

"Of course," Ryu rolled his eyes, looking as if his abilities had been insulted.

"Well that's good," Sorin spoke up, "I would hate falling to my death if you screw up after all that we have done to get here."

Ryu shot him a glare which Sorin simply shrugged off.

"Let's just get down there," Tau rolled his eyes at his bickering companions as he walked over to Ryu, motioning for Sorin to stand next to him so that they were each only a foot apart.

"Okay," Ryu started once everyone seemed to be ready, "Make sure you don't fall off."

With that, he planted his feet firmly to the ground and shot his hands downwards. The part of the walkway they were standing on disconnected from the rest of the walkway and as Ryu moved his arms up and down, the newly created platform slid down the side of the central spire somewhat slowly. Ryu made sure to no make it go any faster for he didn't want to risk anyone losing their balance and plummeting to the rest of the Air Temple below.

"Wow," Sorin said, letting out a low whistle soon after they started their decent, "That's a long way down."

"Just try not to think about it," Tau told him, stopping his own curious eyes from looking downwards, "Just be thankful that the side of this spire is smooth or else we would be having a bumpy ride."

"I'll be thankful once we get down there," Sorin retorted.

"Would you two shut up," Ryu snorted as he tried to concentrate on what he was doing, "Another word and I will make this a lot worse than it needs to be."

Tau and Sorin quickly shut up but Tau couldn't help but give Ryu an amused glance. Sure, descending on a small platform with nothing to keep you on it and with the ground one hundred feet below wasn't the most relaxing thing in the world but Ryu seemed to really hate it. Tau noticed that sweat was starting to gather on his face and he looked rather nervous.

Finally, after another half of a minute, the platform finally reached the main part of the Air Temple and Ryu leaned back against the wall of the bottom of the central spire as he sighed in relief.

"You don't like heights do you?" Tau smirked and gave him a teasing look.

Ryu returned his gaze with a stern look, "Don't even start," he warned.

Tau just let out a small laugh as he turned to take in the main part of the Air Temple that surrounded them. One thing was for sure, it was a lot bigger up close.

Sorin sighed beside him, "This is going to take awhile."

"We better get started then," Tau said as he walked forward and began to explore the place that few were able to go to.

* * *

><p>Days passed and as they did, Aang and Katara gradually recovered. Sha-Mo had told them that it would most likely be a couple of weeks before they made a full recovery but Katara was grateful that she and Aang had enough strength now to walk around the sandbenders camp, albeit in short intervals. They usually would last about half an hour or so of exploring the sandbender camp before they had to find a place to sit and rest.<p>

Now though, they walked hand in hand, curious eyes looking around them, seeing the sandbenders go about their daily routines. Sha-Mo had given her and Aang permission to walk around freely, with the one request that they don't interfere with the sandbender tribe's work.

The camp was really just a large sandy area in the middle of the desert filled with tents, big and small, and some seats made up of hardened sand that Aang and Katara had taken advantage to rest on when they needed to. However, if there was one thing that surprised Katara about the camp it was that there were actually woman that made up a part of the population. She knew that is was an odd thing to be surprised about, but before now, she had only seen male sandbenders. On top of that, the sandbenders have never really seemed like the family type of people. Now though, Katara realized that they were almost like her own tribe in the South Pole. The only big difference was the climate each tribe had settled itself in.

Still though, despite her mild interest in the sandbenders, she couldn't wait to get out of here. She had enough of this desert to last a lifetime. The day she and Aang had regained consciousness, Sha-Mo had sent a messenger out to deliver a message to Ba Sing Se to let Sokka know that they were alright and to come and pick them up so thankfully, Sokka should be here any day now…possibly even today with a little luck.

Katara was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when she felt Aang give her hand a gentle tug and she realized he was leading them over to one of the rocky benches scattered around the camp.

"Ready to sit down?" she asked him, allowing him to pull her along.

"Just for a little bit," Aang turned his head towards her to give her a soft smile, which she returned.

They reached the bench and took a seat on it and leaned against each other, their shoulders touching. One of Aang's arms wrapped itself around Katara waist and Katara rewarded him with a gentle kiss on the lips, ignoring the glances that passing sandbenders gave them. She didn't care though, she wouldn't let a bunch of strangers stop her from showing Aang her affection; especially after all they had just gone through.

They remained quiet though, each just enjoying the closeness of the other. Katara rested her hand on his shoulder, feeling his head turn to rest against the top of hers, and allowed herself to go back to her thoughts. Specifically, she thought about the nightmare she had before she woke up days ago. She promised herself that she would tell Aang when they recovered and she felt that now would be a good time. They were at least feeling like their normal selves again, why hold the discussion off any longer?

"Aang?" she asked questionable, picking her head up from his shoulder to meet the curious gaze he was giving her before telling him simply, "I had another nightmare."

Aang seemed to instantly perk up and gave her hands a squeeze, "You mean just your average, simple type of nightmare or the other nightmares?"

"The other nightmares," Katara told him, feeling his thumb beginning to stroke the back of her hand, "The ones with the dark creatures in them."

Aang was silent for a few moments, lost in thought, before he finally spoke, "So what happened this time? Were you still in that empty Earth Kingdom town?"

Katara shook her head, "No I was in the South Pole," she paused and looked away from him and bit her lip before adding, "And you were there to…except that you were in the spirit world."

Aang's expression didn't change; he only nodded for her to go on.

"Then I heard those things screeching again and everything collapsed around us," she continued, shifting her gaze down to her lap, "Even the ground around us shattered and we were left on a small icy island and those creatures were all around us…just staring…"

She slowly drew off and Aang ducked down in concern to get a good look at her face, which was still looking down at her lap, where their intertwined hands rested. He saw a hint of fear flash across her face before it quickly disappeared and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "So was I still in the spirit world?"

"That's the part that confuses me," Katara looked back up at him, her eyes full of confusion, "When I turned around to look at you, all of your tattoos and your eyes were glowing red. Next thing I knew, your hand was clutching my throat and I felt myself unable to breath. Everything just went black after that and I woke up."

Aang quickly looked away from her, feeling to uncomfortable to meet her gaze after what she had just said. He felt a shiver run up his spine just at the simple thought of him hurting Katara like that. He loved her and he only wanted to make her happy…the thought of him even wanting to harm her in any way filled him with self hatred.

"Kat," he started forcing himself to look back into her eyes, which had been gazing at him ever since she had finished talking, "You know…you know that I would never do that right?"

Katara gasped upon realizing that what she had said was really bothering him and she quickly pulled him into a hug. As quickly as it came, the anger he was feeling towards himself, which she could feel through their connection, vanished.

"I know," she whispered into his ear before tilting her head to kiss his cheek and pulling away to look into his eyes, "I know you would never hurt me and that is what scares me. You weren't you in that nightmare. Something was controlling you, I could feel it."

Aang looked down in thought briefly before looking back up at her again, "Well if you think something was controlling me then…do you think the same thing was controlling Sokka in the last nightmare that you had?"

"I'd bet on it," Katara shrugged, "It has something to do with those creatures…maybe controlling people is just something they can do," Katara paused before smiling slightly, "It's a good thing that those things aren't real or else they would probably be a danger to use all. They seem dangerous."

_Dangerous, _that word echoed through Aang mind. He had only heard that word to describe only one thing recently; the Yanari. Aang found it a little hard to believe but could these things from Katara's nightmares be the Yanari? If so, it would prove that Katara was having visions and not just simple nightmares. However, after everything Katara had told him about the dark creatures, Aang prayed that they were just her mind's imagination and nothing else.

"What is it?" Katara asked, seeing him in deep thought.

Aang quickly shook his head to take the thoughts from his mind before speaking, "I just…what if…"

"There you two are!" they heard a voice yell, interrupting what Aang was going to say. They each turned their head to the source of the voice and it took each of them a few moments to recognize the man running towards them; Ghashuin.

"You're the guy who stole Appa," Aang narrowed his eyes at him once he stood a few feet from the bench.

Ghashuin, for all the confidence he usually held, found himself a little scared. The memories of the Avatar State a few years ago filled his mind. Katara saw that he was uncomfortable and decided to come to his rescue and she turned her head back to Aang, "And he is also the one that rescued us."

"What?" Aang looked at her surprised before looking back up at Ghashuin, "It was you!"

"I found the two of you lying in the desert," Ghashuin shrugged, "It wasn't all that hard to pick you up and bring you back here."

"Still though," Aang looked down, not quite knowing what else to say. He felt his anger towards Ghashuin quickly dissipate, "I…thank you."

"Uh…your…welcome," Ghashuin face twisted into confusion, clearly not expecting Aang to be kind to him.

"You saved Katara," Aang explained, looking back up and seeing Ghashuin's confusion, "That makes up for the things you did in the past."

Katara blushed beside him, her heart fluttering as she once again realized how much she meant to him.

Ghashiun seemed to let out a sigh in relief before regaining his composure, "Anyways, my father wanted me to come and tell you that your friends are here."

"Sokka?" Katara raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah and there is some other girl there with him…and an older guy," Ghashuin shrugged, pointing someplace behind him, "Father is talking to them on the other side of camp."

With that, Ghashuin suddenly walked off towards a group of sandsailors off in the distance and Katara could only assume that he was going out to do more…well, whatever it was that the sandbenders spent their time doing.

"Well," Aang said standing up and pulling her up with him, "Let's go. Sokka's probably anxious to see you again."

Katara nodded as they both began walking in the direction Ghashuin had pointed them towards.

"To tell you the truth," she said as they walked along, "I don't know what I'm happier about. Seeing Sokka, or finally getting out of this desert."

"I know what you mean," Aang quirked one side of his lips up in a half smile, "I've had enough of this place."

Katara hummed in agreement and a few seconds later she finally spotted Appa sitting a few hundred feet away from them. She also saw a group of people talking around him.

"There they are!" she exclaimed, using the hand that was not holding Aang's to point towards the group.

Aang followed her finger and sighed in relief, "Yep, there they are."

The couple picked up their pace to get there faster, each ignoring that their legs felt a little weak. They knew that there would be plenty of time to rest on Appa when they flew back to Ba Sing Se.

As they got closer, she could clearly see Sha-Mo talking to Sokka, Suki, and…her dad. Katara felt a small anger build up inside of her and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself down, trying to ignore the questioning glance Aang gave her.

Once they were only a few dozen feet away, Sokka spotted them and he immediately ran towards them.

"Katara!" he said, throwing his arms around her in relief, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Katara smiled and hugged him back, "I'm glad to."

Aang stood a couple of feet away from them and let the siblings have their moment together. Sokka finally pulled back from Katara and turned to Aang.

"And I suppose I'm glad to see that your okay too airhead," he said.

"Gee, thanks Sokka," Aang rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I'm just kidding," Sokka laughed before pulling Aang into a hug as well, "Believe it or not I was actually very worried about you."

Aang pulled away, "Eh, you didn't need to worry. I had everything under control."

Katara gave him a questioning glance, tilting her head downwards slightly and raising one of her eyebrows, knowing that he had been far from having things under control. She knew that he just said it to reassure Sokka that they had been fine but he was also a terrible liar and Sokka instantly caught on.

Sokka turned to see the look Katara was giving her boyfriend and then turned back at Aang, "Okay…what happened?"

"Well…" Aang rubbed the back of his head, not really wanting to tell Sokka that he and Katara had nearly died. Luckily though, he was interrupted by Suki running up to them and pulling both him and Katara in a brief hug.

"Where have you two been?" Suki smiled, and pulled away from them, "Sokka and I have been worried sick."

"It's a long story," Katara told her, "Aang and I will tell both of you later. Right Aang?"

Aang turned his head towards her to see her looking at him expectantly and after a few moments he conceded, "Okay fine. We'll have story time on the way back to Ba Sing Se."

"Oh and by the way," Sokka spoke up again, jerking his thumb back to Hakoda who was still talking to Sh-Mo, "Dad thinks he knows who one of those men is. He says one of them might be a man named…"

"Tau," Katara interrupted, a dark look flashing briefly across her face, "Trust me. I know."

"So dad was right?" Sokka asked, not noticing the look that had appeared briefly on his sister's face, "Who else was with him?"

Katara shrugged, "I couldn't tell you. Tau was the only one that I actually talked to. There are at least two other people with him though. There were three of them there during that night in Ba Sing Se and one of them was Tau."

"Well come on, we can discuss more of it once we leave," Suki said, addressing Aang and Katara while leading them back to Sha-Mo, Hakoda, and Appa, "It's time to get you guys back to someplace safe."

"Aang, Katara," Sha-Mo turned to them when they walked up, "I suppose this is farewell. I hope both of you recover quickly."

"Recover?" Sokka suddenly became alarmed, "From what?"

Katara ignored her brother and bowed to Sha-Mo respectfully, "Thank you for everything."

"Yeah," Aang agreed, mimicking Katara's motions, "We owe you."

Sha-Mo shook his head, "You don't owe us anything. It was the least we could do, especially after what happened between us years ago."

Once, Sha-Mo feel into silence, Hakoda finally took a step forward, looking at the young couple with relief. He gave a smile and a nod to Aang, but regarded his daughter thoughtfully, thankful that she was alright.

"Katara, I'm so relieved you're not hurt; you and Aang both. You have no idea how worried I was," he said pulling her in for a hug. However, unlike Sokka, who Katara had been accepting of, she quickly pulled away from her dad without even acknowledging him before she took Aang's hand to lead him over to Appa.

Hakoda watched her walk away from him, perplexed at her cold behavior. Was she mad at him? He looked around to the three other remaining people around him for an answer but they all shrugged.

"I'm as confused as you are," Sokka told him, "She wasn't mad at you last time I saw her."

"Hmm," Hakoda hummed thoughtfully as he watched his daughter and the Avatar climb up onto Appa's saddle. He had to admit, his daughters actions had hurt a little, "Well it seems like they're ready to go," he turned to Sha-Mo one last time to bid him farewell before he, Sokka, and Suki also walked over to Appa.

The three climbed onto the bison, with Sokka sitting atop his head to take the reins. He said the usual 'yip yip' and Appa took off.

Aang and Katara, who had been sitting at the back of the saddle turned around to see Sha-Mo waving them off and they waved back. Once he was out of site, they turned back around. Suki was leaning over the front of the saddle to talk to Sokka, but Hakoda was just sitting there, eyes watching Katara in concern.

She tried to ignore it, and turned to bury her head into Aang's chest as his arms came around her. He laid back against the saddle, letting her rest on top of him. It felt nice to be flying on Appa again and the couple laid there, taking in the feeling. One of Aang's hands played with her hair while the other one held her firmly against him. Katara was just content to lie on his chest and listen to his heartbeat, silently enjoying the feeling. That simple feeling, his heart beating gently against her ear, felt special to her now. It let her know that he was alive and that was something she would always be grateful for.

Part of Aang felt a little awkward of them being this affectionate with each other in front of her dad. He finally forced himself to meet Hakoda's eyes and to his surprise, the watertribe chief smiled and gave him an approving nod. Aang smiled gratefully back before laying his head on the side of the saddle, letting the peaceful moment overtake him, feeling Katara cuddle closer to him a few moments later as she to fell into a relaxed state.

Aang smiled down at her lovingly, her blue eyes looking back up at him through her eye lashes. They became lost in each other and they could both already tell that it would be a peaceful ride back to Ba Sing Se.

* * *

><p>Tau walked through the Southern Air Temple, trying to calm the annoyance that was beginning to creep over him. They had been looking for Monk Gyatso's necklace for a few days now and all they could find was skeleton after skeleton; none of which had a necklace hanging around its neck.<p>

By now, he and his two companions had split up to cover more ground faster. They were all going to meet back at the platform they had been using to travel up and down the central spire once they finished searching for the day. Tau was about to head back there but something caught his eye as he walked down one of the temples walkways.

It was a destroyed building that was out of the way from everything else. A few dead trees surrounded it and curiously, Tau walked towards it. This could be what the Avatar had been talking about. He walked into the mostly destroyed structure and the first thing he noticed was that the roof seemed like it had been blown off. Looking around further, he also saw about a dozen skeletons scattered across the room but one caught his sight in particular. It was in the very back corner of the room, but a wooden necklace hung from its neck.

_That has to be Gyatso, _Tau thought.

He walked towards it, careful not to step on any bones that were laying on the floor, and knelt down besides Gyatso's skeleton.

He reached his hand out to touch the pendant on the necklace curiously and he knew he had found what he wanted. Slowly, carefully, for he did not want to disturb the fallen Monk's skeleton; he took hold of the necklace and brought it up and off of the skeleton's head. He stood up, regarding the necklace thoughtfully, turning it over in his hands to inspect every inch of it. Nothing really seemed all that special about it, but at the same time, what he was looking for was probably hidden inside of it. Holding the necklace tightly in one hand, he glanced one more time at Gyatso's skeleton, partially out of respect for the fallen airbenders, before turning to walk out of the destroyed building and towards the platform where Ryu and Sorin should both be waiting for him by now.

It took him a few minutes to get there. He had to walk up a winding staircase, through a whole bunch of hallways that appeared to be the living quarters and back up another staircase. He eventually reached the platform though and just as he expected, Ryu and Sorin where standing there waiting for him. However, once the saw they necklace he was carrying, they left their spot to quickly make their way over to him.

"Did you find it?" Sorin asked, eyeing the object.

"I believe so," Tau answered, holding the necklace out in front of him so his friends could get a better look.

"Hmm, it doesn't look that special," Ryu stated, "Are you sure this is it?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Tau said, handing Ryu the necklace ignoring the questioning look the earthbender gave him, "Ryu, hold it so the pendant is dangling from your hand."

Ryu obeyed, holding his arm out, hand grasping the top of the necklace as the pendant dangled in the air below his hand.

"Now Sorin?" Tau started, getting the firebenders attention, "Burn the wood away but be careful. Don't make the fire blasts to strong. We don't want to burn whatever might be held inside."

Sorin nodded and took a deep breath, holding his hand a few inches from the necklace. He took another breath and as he breathed out, a small jet of fire briefly shot out of his hand and the wooden necklace slowly began to burn away. After waiting for it to burn a few more moments, with Ryu watching the fire intently as if he thought it would burn him to, Tau gathered up some water and put out the fire Sorin had created.

There wasn't much left of the pendant, the bottom had been completely burned away, and suddenly, something dropped out of the necklace and onto the ground. Tau quickly bent down to pick it up to see what it was. It was a small, circular, and orange stone…the same size of the small circular indent that was on the top of the podium. Tau stood back up and held it out in the palm of his hand for Ryu and Sorin to see.

"A sun stone!" Sorin gasped.

"Is that what it is?" Tau questioned, gazing at the small stone curiously.

Sorin nodded, "I've seen them before in the Fire Nation."

"Wait," Ryu shook his head, "What are the air nomads doing using sun stones…that's a Fire Nation thing."

"Does it matter?" Tau asked rhetorically, closing his fist around the stone as he looked upwards towards the top of the central spire looming above them, "We have what we need. Let's get back up there and pray that it works."

* * *

><p><strong>Not really that much to say for the author's note this time. Review and next chapter will be up Monday.<strong>


	27. The Missing Pages

**Another high T rated scene in this chapter.**

**And I don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>"You guys what!"<p>

Aang and Katara exchanged glances before looking at Sokka, who out of everyone else sitting on Appa's saddle, had been the most vocal about his feelings after Aang and Katara had told their story of what had happened to them during the past few days.

"Okay, I'll say it again so you can just get it in your head," Katara told him slowly; she was not in the mood to argue with anyone. Night had fallen and she was tired; she could feel that Aang was to. The last thing they needed was an argument about what had happened, "Aang and I almost starved to death."

Sokka's surprised, and somewhat angry expression, didn't change. Katara looked at the other two members on the saddle. Suki was glancing at her and Aang sympathetically and her dad looked like he wanted to say something but he was holding back.

_Good, _she thought_, I don't want to deal with him anyway right now._

She knew she was being unfair to him but in her eyes, he had betrayed her. All of the things Tau had said about him had truth to it. On top of that, she felt her dad was as guilty as anyone about her mother's death. He was the one that led Tau to do what he did…it all started with Hakoda, and Katara wondered if he had known all along why Kya had died. Surely he had guessed it. Surely he had thought that Tau might have been the source that the Southern Raiders had. It confused her. On one hand, he was her father but on the other, he had kept a pretty big secret from her. What else was he hiding?

However, she came out of her spiraling thoughts when Sokka suddenly raised his voice at Aang.

"And you just let that happen?" the water tribe boy yelled, "You were supposed to be protecting her!"

Aang flinched back but didn't speak as he hung his head down in guilt. Katara suddenly couldn't take it anymore. She knew Aang was still feeling guilty about a lot of things, she was to, and they last thing they both needed were someone accusing them. She laid a comforting hand on Aang's shoulder before she turned to Sokka angrily.

"What right do you have of accusing him of anything? None of this was Aang's fault!" Katara yelled; she barely noticed that Suki and her dad seemed to be shifting around uncomfortably from her tone of voice, "At least Aang was there trying to help me! What were you doing! Sitting in Ba Sing Se and kissing Suki! You weren't helping anyone!"

That hurt. Sokka immediately backed down, glancing at his lap, not quite knowing what to say. Suki and Hakoda just looked around the saddle, wondering if they should intervene and Aang was just looking at Katara with a shocked look on his face.

Katara realized after she said it that what she had said had been harsh but she found that she could care less at the moment. As far as she was concerned, after what she and Aang had dealt with, she had every right to have a short temper. Besides, she had to stick up for Aang because she knew if she hadn't of said anything, then Aang would have agreed with what Sokka had said and that did not sit well with her. Their near death experience wasn't anyone's fault…well except for Tau's.

Sokka finally picked his head up, looking like he was about to speak when Suki placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't we go up and guide Appa?" she suggested, trying to separate the siblings before the small but harsh argument could go any further.

Sokka looked like he was going to deny her request but after a couple of moments he conceded and crawled up onto Appa's head with her.

Katara watched them go before glancing at her dad. He still looked like he wanted to say something but before he could; she turned her back to him and laid down, wanting to get some rest. A few moments later, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned her head to see Aang looking down at her in concern.

She grabbed his hand and took it off of her shoulder, guiding it to wrap around her waist. Aang seemed to get her unspoken request and snuggled up against her back, his arm holding her securely against him. His other arm slid up so he could use it as a pillow and he stretched it out so Katara could use it to. She turned her head once more to give him a soft, grateful smile, before turning back, resting her head on his arm and focusing on his presence around her. Katara felt her eyes drift shut, feeling protected by her soul mate cuddled up behind her, and it didn't take her long to fall into a deep sleep.

Aang couldn't find any sleep though. He didn't know why but he just couldn't. Maybe it was because of the argument or maybe it was because that Tau was still out there…he was probably already at the Air Temple by now and the Yanari could be released at anytime. He knew there was nothing he could do about it though. They were days away from the Southern Air Temple. He only hoped that something, anything, could buy them a little more time to stop Tau before the Yanari are released.

Appa flew for about another half an hour before Ba Sing Se came into view. The city was clouded by darkness but anyone with eyes wouldn't miss the giant wall surrounding it.

"Aang?"

He picked up his head from where it was nuzzled into Katara's hair, to see who had spoken his name. He quickly saw it was Hakoda and he greeted him with a smile.

"I just finished talking to Sokka and Suki," Hakoda said, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake his daughter, "They're just going to land Appa in front of the house to make things easier on you and Katara."

"That's good," Aang replied and he meant it to. He wasn't sure if he felt like walking all the way from the stables to their Ba Sing Se home.

"Do we need to wake her?" Hakoda asked, tilting his head towards Katara.

Aang looked at the girl that was still sleeping peacefully in his arms and shook his head, "I'll just carry her in once we get there."

Hakoda nodded but his expression gave away that there was something else he wanted to say. After a few more moments he finally decided to speak up and asked, "Do you know why Katara is a little…angry at me?"

Aang bit his lip, wondering how much Katara would want him to reveal to her dad without her doing it.

"It's just something that Tau told her," Aang finally said, "I don't think she'd want me saying anything more."

Hakoda nodded, "I understand…I might know what it is anyway."

For a second, Aang considered asking him if what Tau had told Katara had been true but before he could, he felt Appa land on the ground and the sound of Sokka and Suki hoping off of his head.

He looked off to the side, seeing their home a dozen feet away from them and sat up. He gathered Katara up in his arms bridal style and did a gentle leap off of Appa. Sokka and Suki had already walked in the house and he heard Hakoda climbing down from the saddle behind him.

"Do you need any help getting her in?" he asked.

"No," Aang shook his head, "I got it."

He walked forward and up to the house only to see that the door was closed. His hands were holding Katara so he couldn't just open it.

He turned back to Hakoda before adding a little sheepishly, "I could use some help with the door though."

The watertribe chief let out a small laugh before opening the front door and stepped aside to let Aang through. After that, he walked in as well and closed the door behind him.

"The rest of the watertribe warriors I brought have been staying at an inn not too far away from here," Hakoda said, "It's just down the street. If you need anything just come and get me."

Aang nodded, "I will. Thank you Hakoda."

"No, thank you for looking after her," Hakoda smiled and glanced at Katara before turning around and walking out of the house.

Aang turned and walked into the room he and Katara shared and laid her down on the bed carefully before pulling the covers over her. Once she was situated, he undressed down to his underwear before climbing into bed beside her. He took her into his arms once again and he heard her mumble something in her sleep as she snuggled closer to him on instinct, her head resting against his chest.

Aang smiled down at her, nuzzling the top of her head with his nose affectionately before joining her in a peaceful sleep.

* * *

><p>Katara awoke the next morning with a soft yawn before trying to get up only to find that a strong pair of arms was holding her in place. She finally opened her eyes and found that she was resting against someone's chest. She smiled knowing that it was Aang lying next to her.<p>

She picked her head up, careful not to move her body to much in fear of waking the boy next to her, and looked around to see where she was. They were in their own bedroom in Ba Sing Se. The first thing that went through her mind was how she got here but she quickly came to the conclusion that Aang must have carried her in here the night before. She still had her cloths on but he only wore his trunks which only further confirmed her thoughts.

That made her heart flutter. Despite everything that was happening, he was still caring for her as much as he always did. She laid her head back down, this time so she was eye level with him, and studied his facial features curiously.

He had a small smile across his face, and his features were relaxed. Katara let out a soft sigh, relieved that he didn't seem to be having any nightmares or anything else like that. Then she suddenly stopped that thinking and questioned to herself:

_Since when did I become so protective of him that I am worried about how he sleeps?_

Sure, she always hated it when he would wake up from a terrible nightmare but she never fretted over the possibility of him having them. She could only assume it was just another side effect of their connection or maybe it was just the simple fact that she had almost lost him a couple of days ago. She didn't want to ever have to see him hurt again, emotionally or physically. Their near death in the desert was something that was sure to bother her for years to come, just how Azula's lightning strike in the Ba Sing Se catacombs had, and she wasn't sure if she would keep her sanity if anything like that happened again. The first time was bad enough; the second time was just too much for her. Hopefully, she and Aang would find a way to stop Tau and then things could go back to the peaceful ways of the past couple of years and she wouldn't have to worry about Aang getting hurt.

Suddenly, Aang shifted beside her and she saw his eyes slowly open to meet hers; the smile on his face only grew when he saw her. She smiled back at him, reaching a hand up to stroke his cheek softly, causing him to close his eyes again.

"This is nice to wake up to," he whispered, concentrating on what Katara was doing.

She let out a small laugh before leaning towards him to kiss him gently. It started out simple but then Aang tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. Katara quickly caught on to his unspoken request and moved her hand from his cheek to the back of his head, deepening the kiss. Her hand rubbed the back of his head as he let out a soft, needy groan.

Katara couldn't blame him. It had seemed like forever since the last time she and Aang had had an intimate moment with each other. She knew neither of them should go as far as they usually did since they were still partially recovering but that didn't mean they couldn't have some fun.

Giving in to what they both wanted, Katara became a little more daring with her actions. She shifted so that she was lying on top of him, her legs straddling his waist as she ran her tongue across his bottom lip. His lips parted, granting her entrance into his mouth, allowing her to explore him. Aang moaned at the feeling of her tongue running across the insides of his mouth. Wanting her to feel the pleasurable sensations too, he moved his own tongue to stroke hers. It came unexpectedly to Katara and her breath hitched for a moment before their tongues began to massage each other.

She missed this. She missed being this close to him and she missed the feeling that he was now giving her. She felt one of his hands travel down to her rear and her legs squeezed his sides tighter when he gave it a gentle squeeze. His other hand ran along one of her upper legs, stroking it through the fabric of her clothing, causing her to shiver at the feeling.

Katara broke their kiss and sat up, looking down at him with a look that could only be described as seductive. Her half-lidded eyes held suppressed desire in them as she gave him a mischievous smile, her hands moving to stroke his bare chest as their eyes met. He looked up at her, his eyes holding affection and love but also holding the same desire that she was giving him. Her fingers danced along his heaving chest for a few more moments before slowly sliding upwards, her nails grazing along his skin in the process.

She cupped his face, her thumbs stroking his cheeks as he closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. She felt something pressing against her thigh and she didn't need anyone to tell her what it was. She knew very well what she was doing to him. Part of her remembered that she had told herself that they couldn't go too far but she decided to throw that out the window. She wanted this, and she could tell he did to.

Suddenly, she bucked her hips against his, causing him to let out a strangled breath as his hands shot up to grasp her hips tightly. Feeling encouraged by his actions, Katara repeated the motion, achieving the same result and also feeling a shiver run through her body as he pressed against the spot between her legs. One of his hands traveled up and found its way under her robe, finding the strings that held it together. He pulled at them and her robe opened, revealing to him her tan stomach and her white chest bindings.

Katara was a little surprised at what he did but she didn't mind. Her breathing only quickened as one of his hands pressed against her stomach and began to rub it gently in a circular motion. She couldn't help but move her hips against his a few more times. Her robe was hanging loosely from her shoulders, but it was open enough that Aang was still able to see her bare skin that had hide beneath it.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Aang asked her admiringly, unable to take his eyes off her. The last time he was like this with her seemed to long ago for his liking.

A blush rose to her cheeks, but it was something that he didn't notice. Her body had already been a little flustered from what they were doing, his was to, but she still felt even more heat rise to her cheeks at his compliment.

"Aang," she whispered, not knowing what to say.

She leaned down to capture his lips in hers, beginning a heated kiss. His arms wrapped around her and his hands pressed against her back, staying under her open robe. Another shiver ran through her as his hands ran down her spine and she brought her own hands to his chest once again.

Aang flipped them over so that he was hovering over her as he broke away to look into her eyes once more. One of his hands travelled back down to her butt to grasp it firmly as he bucked his hips against hers once again. Katara gasped and brought her hands behind his head to bring his lips crashing down against hers, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist to hold him closer.

Everything seemed to become a blur to her. She was stuck in a haze and the only thing that existed at the moment was Aang, and his hips that continued to press against her. She felt one of his hands stroke the skin on one her sides for a few moments before it moved to her stomach. It then began to travel upwards, slowly.

His tongue pushed itself into her mouth as the hand continued upwards and Katara couldn't help but let a few moans escape her. His hand was moving way too slowly for her liking, he was teasing her. His hand was finally about to reach its intended target, brushing gently across the bottom of her still clothed breasts which drew a small gasp from her, before he suddenly got off of her and moved to the other side of the bed.

Katara whimpered at the sudden loss of contact and opened her eyes, which she hadn't even realized she had closed, to look at him across the bed in concern.

"What'd you stop?" she asked through, shallow, heavy breaths.

Aang glanced at her after taking a deep breath, "I just…don't think we should be going that far."

"But…" Katara paused, desperately wanting to continue what they had been doing but not knowing how to convince him she was ready to take their relationship further, "But what about 'if our hearts tells us that we're ready then we should embrace it'?" Katara finally said, quoting the same words that he had said to her during her birthday.

"I know I said that Kat and I'm ready to go further, just like you are…but," he paused, taking in another breath as he continued to try to calm his breathing before glancing over at her tiredly, "We're still recovering. We shouldn't have even gone as far as we just did."

Realization suddenly dawned on her, remembering how she had told herself that before she had kissed him earlier. She hadn't even realized until now that she had become blinded by the passion and desire that she had been feeling during their heated moment that they had just had. She let the rational side of her take back over and she looked at Aang regretfully.

"I know…I'm sorry Aang," she told him, still breathing heavily for air, "I don't know what came over me."

Aang shook his head and smiled, finally able to get control of his breathing, "You have nothing to be sorry about Kat. I wanted to keep going to. Maybe once this whole Tau thing is all finished…"

He stopped but Katara knew what he was going to say and she returned his smile, reaching over to grasp his hand in hers, "I'd like that."

He smiled back at her and got up off the bed, "Well anyways, we should probably get going…we still have that meeting later today and we still need to deal with Tau."

"Yeah," Katara nodded, "You're right."

She got up off the bed and began to retie her robe around her. Once she was finished she looked up to see that Aang had already thrown his cloths on and he was looking at her longingly as she finished tying her robe.

"What?" she asked, giving him a curious smile and raising her eyebrow.

Aang shook his head and blushed, walking over to take her hand in his as he began to lead her out the room, "I just can't keep my eyes off of you sometimes."

Katara felt herself blush again as well by his sweet comment and the honest way he had said it. She leaned over to kiss his cheek before allowing him to lead her out of the house and towards the palace. She had noticed that Sokka and Suki were already gone so she assumed that they had already left to go there.

Luckily by the time they got to the palace, they had both calmed down from their heated session earlier which was good since they didn't want anyone questioning them on what they had been doing…especially if they ran across Sokka.

As it turned out though, it was Hakoda that they ran across first. He was in the courtyard at the front of the palace talking to Chief Arnook, who Katara assumed had arrived earlier today, and an earthbending soldier who she quickly recognized as Captain Qin.

"So Tau was at the Nothern Watertribe?" she heard her dad ask Arnook as her and Aang walked closer.

Arnook nodded, "He was looking for something in Avatar Kuruk's shrine."

"Do you know what he was looking for?"

"Information on the Yanari obviously," Katara answered before Arnook could once she and Aang had reached their group.

Hakoda looked at his daughter in surprise at the tone her voice took on when she had answered. She sounded annoyed and acted like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Katara, Aang, it's good to see you again," Arnook smiled, greeting the young couple with a polite bow, "Last time we saw each other was when you helped us fend off the Fire Nation years ago."

"It's nice to see you again too," Aang smiled back.

"So did I hear you say that Tau had visited the Northern Tribe?" Katara questioned curiously.

Arnook opened his mouth to speak but Hakoda beat him to it, "Yes, we were just talking about that…"

"I wasn't asking you dad," Katara interrupted, shooting him a quick glare before looking back at Arnook expectantly. She tried not to notice Aang looking at her in concern. Though he hadn't told her, she knew he disapproved at how she was treating her father.

Arnook looked between Katara and Hakoda questionably for a few moments before answering, "Um, yes. Tau was at the Northern Tribe a few months ago. He was looking for something in Kuruk's shrine…which I supposed was information about these Yanari things."

"Did he find anything?" Katara asked.

Arnook half-shrugged, "He said he did but then he said he needed to go to the Earth Kingdom so I don't think he found everything he was looking for. He was looking through Avatar Kuruk's journal and he found some pages ripped out…that seemed to really bother him. Maybe what he wanted were on those pages."

Aang instantly perked up, remembering his conversations with Avatar Kuruk and Tau, "He mentioned a journal to me too. He said what he needed was unreachable now so that is why he had to use me instead. He must not have been able to find them, the missing pages. That had to be what he was looking for. They probably had information on the Yanari that Kuruk wrote about."

"Then he appears at the Omashu archives and then moves on to Ba Sing Se," Katara bit her lip thoughtfully, "He must have gone to Omashu but the missing pages weren't there and for some reason, he suspected they were in Ba Sing Se."

"Those empty shelves," Aang stated, "You said it yourself that you thought Tau would go to Ba Sing Se after we found out why they were empty. That must have been what led him here."

"And that means the missing pages are here somewhere," Katara finished.

"Does it matter though?" Arnook asked, "I thought you already found out everything about the Yanari and told Tau."

"Not everything," Aang shook his head, "Kuruk told me that he had lost some of the information…that information might still be in his journal. We have to find it."

"The question is where it is," Hakoda said, speaking up for the first time since Katara had shut him down.

No one seemed to have an answer for that but Katara couldn't help but notice that Qin, who had been silent for the whole conversation, suddenly seemed rather uncomfortable.

"You know where they are, don't you?" she asked him, gazing at him intently.

Qin shook his head, "I don't know anything about it."

Katara wasn't convinced though and she raised her eyebrow, "You sure?"

"Look, I really don't have the authority to give away any information like that," Qin responded, "You have to talk to General Howe."

"The meeting is only in a few hours," Aang told him, "Whatever information we find in the journal could be useful. We need to see it before the meeting. So where is it?"

"Talk to General Howe," Qin repeated, more sternly then before.

"Would you quit being difficult," Katara took a few steps forward to him, feeling herself growing more and more irritated, "We are on your side!"

"And the Ba Sing Se archives are only to be showed to people that have the clearance," Qin told her, "Neither of you have that clearance yet."

Katara couldn't take it anymore, this guy was just irritating her too much. She took a few more steps closer to him until they were only a couple of feet apart.

"You listen to me right now," she said venomously, attempting to keep her voice down at a respectable level, "Aang and I almost died in the desert trying to get here so we could find a way to stop Tau. We almost starved to death and let me tell you," she continued, jabbing her finger into his chest, "We didn't go through all of that just so you can stop us from doing what we need to do. You are going to take Aang and I to the Ba Sing Se archives and help us figure this out right now or I will make you do it!"

She had raised her voice towards the end and Qin had flinched back instinctively. If looks could kill, he was sure that the one she was giving him would be the look to do it. She started breathing heavily from anger and Aang, Arnook, and Hakoda had backed away to let her settle this with him.

Knowing that she wouldn't back down, Qin took in a deep breath before conceding, "Alright I'll take you to the archives," he said turning away from her and began to walk out of the courtyard, "Follow me."

Katara watched him go for a few moments before she began to follow him with Aang falling into step beside her.

"We'll be back by the time the meeting starts," Aang yelled back to Hakoda and Arnook before grabbing Katara hand to try to calm her down. He tried sending some comforting thoughts through their connection and he wasn't sure if she was able to understand them or not but she seemed to calm down a little bit a few moments later.

They followed Qin through a few streets in the Upper Ring before he stopped at the entrance of a large building to wait for them to catch up.

"Is this it?" Aang asked, looking at the building which was right in the middle of a street full of stores with people mingling around everywhere, "It doesn't look that secretive."

"This is just the proxy archives," Qin whispered so no one else would hear him, "The real archives are beneath us."

Aang and Katara exchanged glances before following Qin into the proxy archives. He led them to the very back into what looked like to be a storage room. He walked over to the corner of the room and shot his hands out; earthbending an opening in the floor and revealing a staircase.

"Down here," he said as he began walking down the revealed staircase with Aang and Katara in tow and shutting the earth above them to hide the staircase.

The staircase was narrow and they had to walk down hundreds of steps. Katara would be lying if she said she wasn't feeling claustrophobic. She could tell that Aang was uncomfortable to. It spiraled downwards deep under the proxy archives but luckily they eventually reached the end. Qin opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and Aang and Katara each let out a gasp at what they saw. It was similar to the Omashu archives but it was much, much bigger.

It must have held millions of documents, there were also about ten floors, and Katara wondered how they could possibly find what they were looking for. Qin didn't seem concerned though.

"Luckily," he explained, "We have everything related to the Avatars separated out into one section of the archives."

Aang and Katara followed him up to the second floor and through dozens of hallways but eventually Qin stopped to look at a wall filled with papers and books.

"The missing pages are most likely somewhere here," he said, walking closer and finding a label on one of the shelves that said Kuruk's name on it. He studied that section of the shelf and after several minutes he finally pulled a bundle of papers out of it and walked back to Aang and Katara, who had been waiting patiently.

"I think this is what you are looking for," he said, handing Aang the papers.

Aang took them and glanced over it briefly before nodding, to caught up in reading them to give a spoken response. Katara looked over his shoulder and read the pages with him. She could tell they had been torn out because the first few words started mid sentence but it read:

…_watched over the Earth millennia ago. They were called the Yanari. I had hoped that they would be able to help me defeat Koh but they are dangerous. They were locked away long ago and now I am just sitting here wondering whether or not I should release them in an attempt at getting Ummi back._

The rest just seemed to talk about what she and Aang already knew. However, Kuruk had done a rough sketch of what they looked like and when she saw it she let out a gasp which caused Aang to look at her curiously, eyebrows raised.

"Those," Katara took in a deep breath, "Those are the things from my nightmares."

"What?" Aang asked in surprise, looking at the sketch that Kuruk had drawn. It showed a black, cloudy figure with red eyes and about a dozen thick tentacles jutted out from its body. So these were they things that Katara dreamt about.

_I guess this actually proves that they are visions now_, he thought.

A shiver ran through Aang at just seeing the sketch of them. He could only imagine what Katara had felt in her vision. He suddenly felt extremely sorry for her. He felt his own heart ache at the thought of the fear she had probably felt. He forced himself to read on though, for there was a least one more section left to read under the sketch of the Yanari.

Once he finished though, Katara who had backed away from the revelation that she had been having visions, heard Aang let out a quite laugh and both she and Qin gave the Avatar a weird look.

"We actually might be in a little luck," Aang explained, looking up from the pages, "For as much as I have complained about it before, I am actually glad it is relevant this time."

"Aang what are you talking about," Katara tilted her head in confusion.

Aang smiled at her, "We still have time to stop Tau. It's not over yet. You see…the Yanari can only be released during…"

* * *

><p>"…the solstice!"<p>

Tau looked over to Sorin, who had been the one to speak up.

"Unfortunately yes," Tau said as he began to explain things to Sorin again. Ryu was standing a few feet away from them listening in on the conversation but he had yet to provide his input. However, Tau knew that Ryu was listening to what he was saying, "We put the sun stone in its little cradle yesterday and nothing has happened since then. The Yanari should have been released by now. From the looks of it though, we have to wait until the solstice."

"Yeah, I got that part," Sorin nodded, "What makes you think it's the solstice though."

"Just look at the windows along the wall," Tau explained, looking around him, "They aren't evenly spaced and some windows are smaller than others, like they were made to direct sunlight to a certain area."

Sorin looked around the room. Tau was right of course, he never said anything unless he was sure of it. The windows were scattered around somewhat randomly and there were some really small narrow ones.

"Even the podium is not completely centered in the room, as much as it may look like it is," Tau continued, nodding off to the side to where the podium was with the sun stone laying in it, "It was built like that deliberately."

Tau paused and looked around for another few moments before pointing to a window that looked more like a horizontally long narrow slit.

"That window right there," Tau explained confidently, "On the solstice the sun will shine directly through it and the sunlight will be directed to the sun stone on the podium. When the solstice comes, a ray of sunlight will shine through the window and over the course of the day it will move closer and closer to the sunstone before it hits it," Tau shrugged, "We can only assume that the Yanari will be released after that."

"Well it looks like you're making a lot of assumptions right now," Sorin told him.

"I'm not assuming anything," Tau corrected, "I'm just using logic. That window is placed at an odd angle to where the sun will only shine directly through it on the solstice."

"Let's just say that you're right," Ryu said, speaking up for the first time, "The Winter Solstice is a couple of days away. What do we do until then?"

"We prepare," Tau said simply.

"Prepare?" Sorin questioned, looking at Tau oddly, "For what?"

"Despite everything, it is still possible that the Avatar managed to make it out of the desert," Tau said, "I am certain that the nice letter that Ryu wrote to the Earth Kingdom government will rule out them helping the Avatar against us but that doesn't mean he won't come here to stop us personally. We have to prepare in case that happens."

"And how do you expect us to do that?" Sorin asked.

Tau turned and walked out of the room and to the outer walkway. He walked over to the edge and looked down. Far below, at the main part of the air temple there was a large courtyard with a balcony overlooking it. It was probably about 50 feet above the courtyard and it was connected to the central spire. Ideas where already forming in his head. He heard Sorin and Ryu walk up behind him and they looked down to see what Tau was looking at.

"The Avatar would no doubt come here on his bison," Tau started, "If we were able to force him to land, I am betting that courtyard would be the place where he'd do it."

"So?" Ryu raised his eyebrows.

"So," Tau continued, "We set traps down there and when he gets here we make sure that is where he goes. We can position ourselves on that balcony overlooking the courtyard and keep him trapped down there. We don't need to kill him. We would just need to hold him off until the Yanari are released."

"I guess that would be our best chance against him as any," Sorin said.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and the Avatar will get here late…or never get here at all," Ryu deadpanned.

"Maybe," Tau agreed, finally turning his attention away from the courtyard hundreds of feet below, "But I don't want to take any chances, not when we've come this far."

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><p><strong>Okay, so I just want to give you guys a warning. Chapter 28 will be up on Thursday but after that, I may have to hold off chapter 29 for a week. So there might not be an update next Monday.<strong>

**Here's why. This may be a bit spoilerish but the final climactic fight of this fic takes place during chapters 29, 30, and 31. Because of that, I want to be able to post those chapters every other day instead of two days a week. However, I am just now, kind of, starting college this week so I won't have as much time to write as I usually do. Consequently, that means i might have to hold chapter 29 off for a week so I can post those three chapter nearly back to back with one another. I'll say that I have already written chapter 29 so if I can do 30 and 30 by next Monday than I won't have to delay 29 for a week. I just want you guys to know that I MIGHT have to do that. Whether I hold 29 off or not will be decided by the time 28 is posted on Thursday. I'll have more info for you guys then.:)**


	28. Initiative

**I don't own Avatar**

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><p>When they arrived back at the palace, things seemed a lot more crowded than they had been before. Various soldiers from each of the three nations mingled around and Katara was having a hard time walking through them all. She made sure that she kept hold of Aang's hand as they walked through the crowded hallways of the massive palace. If they got separated, she wasn't sure if they'd find each other again. Besides, the meeting was going to start in a few minutes so they had to get there as quick as possible.<p>

Qin had long left the two of them alone. After they had left the archives, he had once again resumed his position as the commander of the place's security. She assumed that was why all the soldiers were here. Only the higher ranking members of each nation would be attending the meeting itself so everyone else must just be here for securities sake. One thing was sure; the Earth Kingdom wasn't risking anymore assassination attempts. She was sure Kuei's murder would be remembered for quite a long time and that the Earth Kingdom will step up its security force in the future.

Still though, part of her didn't want to go to the meeting. Part of her wanted to mingle around in the archives for a little while longer. If they had been hiding information on the Yanari…what else was the Earth Kingdom hiding? Katara wasn't even completely sure if she wanted to know the answer to that. Besides, even if there was no meeting and she and Aang would have had time to stay in the archives, she was sure Qin would have stopped them from doing so.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she and Aang finally came to the doors leading into the meeting room. They walked in, seeing that everyone else already seemed to be there. The room was quite large and there was a big oval like table in the center of the room with dozens of chairs pulled up to it. Many people were already sitting comfortable in their seats while a few others just mingled around the room talking to each other.

She wasn't surprised to see that Sokka and Suki were among those few and that they were talking to Zuko and Mai off to the side. She felt Aang give her a gentle tug on the hand and she allowed him to lead her over to their group of friends.

"Aang, Katara," Zuko perked up once he saw them, walking over to them with Mai in tow, "You two really are okay," Zuko paused before adding sarcastically, "Thanks for stopping by and letting us know earlier. We were very worried about you…even if Mai won't admit it."

Mai casted him a quick glare before Aang spoke up, "Well we had some things to do. We would've stopped by to see you earlier otherwise, you know that."

"What could you possibly need to do after barely surviving being stranded in the desert?" Zuko asked and upon seeing the shocked look on the young couple's faces he quickly added, "Sokka was just explaining to me what happened."

"Oh right," Katara let out a small laugh, "That makes sense."

"We had to find some more information," Aang explained, "We found something that we might be able to take advantage of."

"I'm going to go ahead and assume that you were finding some more stuff about these Yanari things?" Mai raised one eyebrow with a bored expression since she already knew the answer.

"Yeah," Katara answered simply with a small shrug.

Zuko was about to open his mouth to say something when a louder voice stopped him.

"May I have everyone's attention?"

The four looked in the direction that the voice came from to see General Howe standing at the head of the large table and all of the chatter in the room died down.

"I'd like to get started as soon as possible," he announced, "So if everyone's ready, I would like to ask that you all take your seats and we can begin."

Everyone seemed to obey instantly. Everyone sat down a few moments later and Katara led Aang over to a couple of empty seats that were next to her brother. Everyone seemed to be seated in a certain order so she assumed that the seats were most likely reserved specifically for them.

She and Aang looked around the table. They were at the opposite end of the table from General Howe. Next to him sat the other members of the Council of Five followed by some smaller ranked Earth Kingdom delegates. Next was King Bumi's group of officials then Zuko, Mai and the rest of the Fire Nation delegates. The Northern Watertribe and the Southern tribe were all sitting next to one another. Arnook seemed to mark the end of the Northern Tribe group. Next to him were her and Aang. Sokka, who seemed to be eyeing her intently, sat calmly next to her with Suki beside him, then her dad and then the rest of the men from the Southern Tribe, and after that came more of the Earth Kingdom delegates again. All in all, it was a big circle and each nation seemed to have its own section of it.

Part of her wondered why Aang was grouped with the Watertribes but she assumed it was because of his relationship with her and the fact that the Southern Tribe had essentially become his new home.

Howe seemed to be waiting for everyone to get situated and Katara took the chance to turn to her brother.

"Sokka, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday," She said a little regretfully, "I didn't mean it. I was just tired and cranky and…"

"Hey," he interrupted her gently, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I understand. After what you and Aang went through I should have just left you two alone about it. I'm sorry too."

That was a relief. For whatever reason, she expected Sokka to be mad at her still. She smiled at him before they both turned their attention to General Howe, who looked like he was prepared to speak.

"I'm sure by now you all know why we are here," he said, glancing around the table, "For months now, an experienced Waterbender named Tau has been invading our cities and has committed crimes against the Earth Kingdom, including the murder of the late Earth King Kuei."

"And the attack on Omashu," Bumi threw in quickly.

"Unfortunately," Howe continued, "We don't know much about him or the group he is traveling with. However I understand that Chief Hakoda of the Southern Watertribe has some experience with him."

"That's right," Hakoda nodded, "He served along with me in the War a little over a decade ago. He was captured by the Fire Nation and that was the last time I saw him."

Katara glanced at her father as he spoke. He had essentially just confirmed part of Tau's story. Maybe he really was a coward…

"I had a run in with him at Omashu as well," Zuko spoke up, "I fought against him and no doubt that he is extremely powerful."

"Besides that, we don't know that much," Howe said. Katara might have just imagined it but it seemed like that he was hiding something…like that there was something he knew that he was saving for latter.

"The question is what are we going to do about him?" Arnook spoke up, "We know what he's after, a group of spirits called the Yanari."

"So I've heard," Howe said, turning his attention to Aang and Katara, "Something tells me that you two have a little more knowledge about all that."

The couple exchanged glances before Aang turned back to address Howe, "Yes we do. Tau has gone to the Southern Air Temple to release them. He most likely is already there now and the Yanari are very dangerous."

"And that means we can't allow Tau to release them," Katara added.

Howe leaned back in his chair, "If he is already there then we are too late and there is nothing we can do about it."

"No we still have a chance to stop him," Aang argued, "The Yanari can only be released on the solstice. The Winter Solstice is just two days away and with any luck we can get there in time."

"He doesn't have many men with him," Katara continued, "If we sent a small army to the Temple, he wouldn't stand a chance."

"And what if he does have more men under his command than you think he does?" another Council of Five member, General Sung, asked, "He could have a fortress of troops set up there for all we know. There could be a whole rebellion that he is leading. If that is true, that small army you speak up will be massacred and two days isn't enough time to gather a larger invasion force."

"I have to agree with the Avatar and Katara," Zuko said, nodding at the two, "Nothing else has ever seemed to suggest that there is any more than a few men under Tau's command."

"Still," Howe said, "We can't take any chances."

"You're already taking a chance if we don't go after Tau," Aang argued, "If we just let him release the Yanari…"

"Then what?" Howe interrupted, his voice suddenly becoming very stern and he seemed to be glaring at Aang, "To tell you the truth, I find it hard to believe this whole Yanari thing. I have no doubt that they exist but their danger could be exaggerated."

"Exaggerated or not we still can't take that chance," Aang argued again, "We have to at least try to…"

"Enough!" Howe interrupted again, "You have made your thoughts very clear but this man committed crimes against the Earth Kingdom and he is our responsibility to deal with in whatever way we see fit."

"What is this all about?" Zuko addressed Howe demandingly, "You have always seemed to value Aang's opinion before. What's changed?"

Howe crossed his arms calmly and stared across the table at Aang and Katara as he addressed the rest of the room, "What's changed? Well for one, I no longer believe that the Avatar and Master Katara can be trusted."

All eyes turned towards the two in question to see that they had a look of shock on their faces. They exchanged a few more glances with each other before their eyes fell on Howe again.

"What!" Katara shrieked, "You don't think Aang and I can be trusted?"

"I, and the rest of the Council of Five, have reason to believe that both you and the Avatar willingly assisted Tau," Howe explained, "Thereby that would make the two of you traitors to the Earth Kingdom."

"Now hold on, that's going too far!" Hakoda yelled, standing up to look at Howe in the eye, "My daughter and Avatar Aang have ever only tried to help the Earth Kingdom and the world. They would never betray any of us!"

"Then I suppose I just imagined the letter that I received a few days ago explaining in detail how the Avatar willingly went to Tau's airship and went into the spirit world to find information about the Yanari…information that he then passed down to Tau," How explained, holding out a small piece of paper in his hand, "Take a look for yourselves if you don't want to believe me."

Aang and Katara just sat there helplessly as they watched the letter being passed around the table for people to read it. They both knew what the letter was referring to but Aang would hardly say that he willingly helped Tau. He was being threatened with Katara's death.

Once the letter got back to General Howe again, all eyes turned to the still stunned couple.

"So," Howe addressed them, folding his hands onto the table, "Now would be a good time to explain yourselves."

Before either of them could speak Hakoda spoke up angrily once again, knowing full well what really happened, "That letter is exaggerating what happened with them. Are you really going to believe it?"

"It all depends on what the Avatar has to say," Howe shrugged before eyeing Aang expectantly, "Well?"

Aang took a deep breath, deciding that he might as well tell the truth instead of trying to bend it, "Tau held Katara hostage. He said he was going to kill her if I didn't help him. I had to do something."

"So you admit that you did help him and you, personally, were not being forceed to at all," Howe raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't have a choice," Aang explained, trying to stay calm, "I can't lose her!"

Howe scowled, "You're the Avatar. Last time I checked that means the world comes first over everything. As far as you are concerned, Master Katara should have been expendable."

Aang suddenly felt a sharp pang of guilt come from his connection with Katara and he stood up and glared at Howe angrily.

"Expendable?" he yelled, slamming his fists on the table, "She is not expendable! What gives you the right to say that?"

"My interest is for the good of the world," Howe argued, not noticing that Hakoda and Sokka also seemed to be angry and that Zuko didn't look far off from losing his temper as well, "And yours should be the same. If the Yanari are as dangerous as you think they are then you should have just kept it to yourself and let Tau kill her."

"As far as we see it," Genera Sung added, "You are the one to blame for our current situation."

"Don't!" Katara yelled standing up as well, "Don't any of you blame him! It's my fault! I was the one that was captured!"

"Katara…" Aang started but was quickly interrupted by her.

"Don't try to tell me any different Aang," she interrupted, "If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't be happening."

"Well at least you admit it," Howe said, relieved and slightly smug, "I believe you two have done enough. You both have helped us greatly over the past couple of years but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you both to leave. We will deal with the situation our way and you two are of no further use."

"Now hold on a minute," Zuko argued, standing up as well, "You just can't kick them out. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. We are not here to put the blame on anyone. We are here to find a solution and they can help us with that."

"And who's to say that they are not helping Tau right now?" Sung questioned, "Maybe Tau let them both go so that they could mislead us."

"That's ridiculous!" Sokka finally blurted out, "Do you really believe that?"

"We can't deny the possibility," Sung shrugged.

"We're taking a risk if the Avatar and Master Katara hear our plans," Howe explained calmly, "Whatever they said, right now their allegiance is questionable and if they are still helping Tau they could warn him of our plans long before we go through with them."

He looked around the room. Most of everyone seemed to be agreeing with him. Only the few that had close ties with the couple in question seemed to have problems. The most notable ones where, Hakoda, Sokka, Suki, and Zuko, with Arnook and Mai seeming a little uncomfortable and Bumi…whatever he was feeling, he was hiding it very well.

"So," Howe continued after seeing the most of the delegates were on his side, "For security purposes, I'm going to have to ask the Avatar and Master Katara to leave before we continue on with the meeting."

"They're not going anywhere," Hakoda argued.

"Then I will have them forcefully removed," Howe shrugged.

"They almost died you idiot!" Sokka yelled, jumping from his seat.

The whole room seemed to erupt in an argument after that. Katara couldn't even tell what each side was saying. Everyone was talking at once. She tried to ignore it all as she looked down at her lap. If she had felt worthless before, there was no way to describe what she was feeling now. She supposed Howe had said it best: expendable. Her heart ached and she had to fight back some tears before they fell. Howe's words had been like knives going through her. She felt Aang rest his hand over her own and she looked up to see him with a concerned look on his face. She just shook her head and looked away from him and back down to her lap. Her breathing quickened as her body quivered slightly as she tried to keep the tears at bay. How could Howe even think that of her? Of Aang? Katara suddenly felt her anger rising towards the head of the Council of Five. She needed to get out of here before she lost it. She quickly pushed her seat back away from the table and got up, walking towards the exit as quickly as she could.

Aang watched her go out the door and glanced back at the arguing group next to him and shook his head. This whole thing turned out to be quite ridiculous. He knew this was all Tau's planning too. He was the one that had sent the letter to Howe for the sole purpose of creating a rift between the world's leaders. He had succeeded and now Aang wasn't even sure if anyone would even be able to come up with a plan, even after all the arguing stopped. He sighed; that didn't mean he and Katara couldn't do something about it though. Regardless of how useless he knew she was feeling right now, he knew that wasn't that case, whether she wanted to believe him or not. He got up as well to chase after her, leaving the arguing politicians behind him.

If they weren't going to do something about Tau, then he and Katara would.

* * *

><p>It didn't take him that long to find where Katara had gone to. At this point with their connection it almost felt like there was a string attaching him to her. All he had to do was follow the string and he would reach her eventually. So Aang wasn't surprised that he was able to find her so quickly, but what did surprise him is <em>where <em>he found her.

She was at the shores of Lake Laogai, bending a stream of water around her. The lake wasn't the group's best memory but still, it was the nearest source of water from the palace…so maybe it wasn't so surprising that she ended up there. He knew that she often waterbended to calm herself down and after hearing what Howe had said, she was seething right now inside. He could feel it.

He approached her slowly, not wanting to disturb her but that plan went out the window moments later when she returned her water to the lake and spoke up in a soft voice with her back to him.

"I know you're there."

Aang stopped a few feet away from her and regarded her with concern, "Katara…"

"Don't Aang," she pleaded, sitting down on the sand and hugging her knees to her chest, "Don't try to tell me any differently, Howe was right and deep down, you know it to even if you don't want to admit it."

It nearly broke is heart to see her so down and unsure of herself like that. She was usually so confident…it was one of the many things he loved about her. He took the few more steps necessary to reach her and sat down beside her, close enough so that their shoulders were touching. Aang felt Katara's emotions shift a little and he could tell that she found the simple contact a little comforting.

"That's not why I followed you Kat," he said at last, keeping his eyes on the sand in front of him, "I'm not going to try to convince you anymore, it's something that you need to work out yourself. At the same time…now is a better chance than any to prove Howe wrong about you being 'expendable'."

"Yeah?" Katara tilted her head towards him slowly, "How's that?"

Aang turned his head towards her and gazed at her seriously, "You and I both know that Howe won't do anything quick enough to stop Tau from releasing the Yanari. He and the others seem to think it's a big rebellion that they are dealing with. We know that is not true but Howe and the others don't trust us anymore."

"Where are you going with this Aang?" Katara raised her eyebrows at him.

"We take it into our own hands," Aang answered determinedly, "We go after Tau together and stop him from releasing the Yanari."

"Aang…I don't know," Katara looked away from him, "We don't exactly have a good track record against Tau and like you said this morning, we're still recovering. Neither of us is at full strength."

"I know we aren't but I feel like we have to at least try it," Aang told her, reaching his hand out to turn her face back towards him, leaving it to rest on her cheek, "Look, if you don't want to come then I won't make you," he took in a deep breath, "But I need to do this whether you are with me or not. The world's in jeopardy and it's my job to save it."

Katara was silent for several moments and Aang could tell that she was thinking over what he had said.

She still had a score to settle with Tau. He was responsible for her mother's death and she wanted to be the one to put him in his place. Besides, she wouldn't allow herself to abandon Aang and force him to go after Tau alone. Whether they were both recovering or not, Aang was right…this was something they had to do. The government was against them now and if she and Aang didn't go, then no one would be stopping Tau. They couldn't let Tau win.

Aang mistook her silence the other way though and he stood up and began to walk away.

"I need to leave now," he said, "The Southern Air Temple is three days away…it'll be lucky if Appa can manage to fly that distance in two."

"You're not going anywhere…," Katara told him in a tone that stopped any argument as she stood up to gaze at him.

He turned around to look at her and sighed before she could say anymore, "Katara I…"

"Not without me," she finished, a small smile forming on her face.

He couldn't help but smile back at her as she walked over to him. She draped her arms over his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him softly. They held the kiss for several moments before she broke away but left her forehead resting against his.

"I've told you before Aang," she whispered, "I'll do anything and everything for you. I'm with you to the end…no matter what happens."

His arms tightened around her waist as his eyes brightened, gazing into hers with a mixture of adoration and curiosity.

"You sure?" he questioned.

Katara moved her head to bury it into his shouldered, murmuring softly, "Yes, I won't let you do this alone Aang. I love you too much."

"I love you too," Aang replied softly, nuzzling his head into her hair that was resting over her shoulders.

The held each other for a few minutes, each comforted by the other's presence. Unfortunately, they both knew that had to hurry up and leave. They were short on time to begin with.

Katara broke away, "We should probably get going."

"Yeah," Aang agreed, taking her hand to lead her to Appa's stables, "Let's go before anyone could stop us. I don't think Howe would be too pleased if he found out that we were going to Tau again. It might just make him more suspicious."

"You don't really think he would try to stop us do you?" Katara asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Aang shrugged as they continued walking, "Either way; I think it's best for him not to know until we have Tau in custody. We shouldn't confront him now…which is the same reason that it would probably be best if we didn't tell Sokka and Suki what we are doing either. The meeting is going to last for several more hours and we don't have time to wait for it to be over. They'll understand right?"

Katara nodded, "I'm sure Sokka will throw a fit but he'll get over it. I agree with you though…we shouldn't confront Howe," she paused for a moment before adding, "It'll be too soon if I ever see him again."

Aang squeezed her hand reassuringly, "Hey, don't think about what he said okay? Right now, it's just you and me."

"Right," Katara smiled and squeezed his hand in return, "Just you and me."

* * *

><p>Tau stood at the top of the central spire, looking down at the courtyard far below where Sorin and Ryu were setting up a few traps. Tau had to adjust their plan a little bit. Now, it was decided that one of them would always remain up at the top of the spire to defend the podium. They didn't know when or if the Avatar would be coming so the safest thing to do was to have someone constantly guarding the podium and the sun stone. Tau was the one who would be doing that. He was in charge of all of this and when the Yanari were released, he wanted to make sure he was here to speak to them.<p>

If the Avatar ever got here Tau would attempt to force him to land in the courtyard below where Ryu and Sorin would then hold him off as long as necessary. Hopefully, the Avatar would never arrive at all. Hopefully, he had been killed in the desert just as Tau had planned it. Tau wasn't willing to take risks though by not having a battle strategy should the Avatar show up.

He looked down at a pair of objects in his hands; the Avatar's glider and bison whistle. Until now, he had kept the objects in a storage room on the airship. Now though, Tau figured that he should do something with the Avatar's belonging. Unfortunately, he found he didn't really have any use for them. They were just dead weight now. Making the decision a few moments later, he casually tossed the two objects off the side of the Air Temple to whatever lay below. Tau didn't have any use for them and there was no reason to give them back to the Avatar if he ever showed up again. There was no reason to keep them.

"Hey, we were going to use those."

Tau turned when he heard the voice behind him and saw Ryu walking up to him. Ryu had been travelling up and down the temple using the Earthbending platform so Tau wasn't all that surprised to see him up here.

"What could you possibly use the Avatar's glider for?" Tau raised an eyebrow.

Ryu shrugged, "Sorin and I were just tossing ideas around for it. I guess we don't really need to now though."

"Well if you really need a stick I'm sure you can find something laying around here," Tau retorted.

He looked back out to the skies surrounding the temple, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. It was just clear skies though with nothing in site. They were fine…for now at least. He saw Ryu out of the corner of his eye come up and stand beside him.

"You really think the Avatar is going to come?" Ryu asked.

"If he's alive he will be," Tau answered, smiling and laughing to himself, "It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. There is something the Avatar still doesn't know about and we could take advantage of that."

Ryu smiled knowingly and he could only agree with his friend.

_Things would get interesting indeed._

* * *

><p>"He's a fool!"<p>

Suki followed an angry Sokka into their Ba Sing Se home and closed the door behind them as Sokka continued ranting.

"I'm mean seriously, what is Howe thinking?" Sokka complained, pacing around the room, "First he labels Aang and Katara as traitors and then he decides that the Earth Kingdom is going to mobilize a large offensive force to attack the Southern Air Temple. That would take WEEKS! I don't even understand why he thinks we are dealing with a massive rebellion!"

"Sokka…" Suki tried to speak but was interrupted by Sokka's ranting.

"We don't even have weeks. Aang and Katara said that the Yanari will be released in two days and Howe just ignores that?"

"Sokka…"

"I mean King Kuei wasn't the best leader around but at least he wasn't brain dead!" Sokka continued, "Gah, I hope the Earth Kingdom finds a new Earth King soon or else Howe will stay in charge! We might as well disband the government if that happens! I mean, Aang came up with a better plan then him and that's saying something…"

"Sokka!" Suki yelled, and shot her arm out to grasp his shoulder, stopping his pacing and ranting as he looked at her curiously, "I know this whole situation is upsetting but throwing a fit about it isn't going to help."

Sokka gazed at her for a few moments, breathing heavily before hanging his head down and conceding, "Yeah, okay, no more ranting. Let's just go find Aang and Katara. Katara seemed pretty upset earlier".

"Well could you really blame her?" Suki questioned.

"No," Sokka responded, "She had every right to act how she did. Howe was being a complete-"

"Okay Sokka, I get it," Suki interrupted before Sokka could start ranting again, "Speaking of Aang and Katara though, where are they…I would've thought that they would be here."

"What?" Sokka asked, looking around the room and seeing that the house seemed to be empty except for the two of them, "Hmm that's strange, I wouldn't think they would go walking around the city after that disastrous meeting."

Suki hummed in agreement as she began to check the rooms of the house to see if Aang and Katara were just being really quiet or something. Sokka was also looking and the first thing he noticed was that Aang and Katara's bedroom door was closed. Many different scenarios popped into his head with one standing out in particular.

"Hey Suki?" he asked, getting his girlfriends attention, "Go up to their bedroom door, see if you can hear Katara moaning or something."

"What!"

"Hey," Sokka held his hands up defensively, "I had to hear them when I almost walked in on them during Katara's birthday and that is not something I want to repeat. So you know…just walk over to their door and see if you hear anything."

Suki gave him an exasperated look but nonetheless walked over to the closed door to do what Sokka asked. She didn't hear anything so a few moments later she opened the door to find that the bedroom was empty.

"There not in here Sokka," Suki said, "They must be somewhere else in the city."

"Yeah, that or they…" Sokka suddenly stopped talking, his eyes widening at the thought that popped into his head. He quickly turned and walked out of the house, barely registering that Suki was following him.

"What is it Sokka?" She asked as she caught up to him.

Sokka didn't answer and Suki couldn't help but look at him oddly. She soon realized though that Sokka was leading them to Appa's stable and she quickly caught on to what Sokka was thinking.

"They've done some crazy things before," Sokka finally said as they got closer to the stables, "And I wouldn't put it past them to try to do something crazy now."

"Sokka, I don't really think they would just leave and…" Suki stopped when they turned a corner that led to Appa's stable and saw that it was empty, "Oh…"

She heard Sokka slap his forehead upon seeing the empty stable.

"I can't believe them!" he yelled, "What are they thinking! They're still recovering! They're in no condition to fight Tau!"

Suki had to agree with him. She knew that Aang and Katara would both sometimes do some crazy, stupid things but this topped them all.

_Just come back safely you two…_

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I'm sorry to say it but chapter 29 will be held off. So it won't be posted Monday. It will be posted next Thursday, which is a week from now. After that though, the rest of the fic will be posted every other day. That's a plus right? <strong>_  
><em>


	29. A Shocking Welcome

**Okay guys, this is it, the start of the final battle and the last four chapters of the fic. From now on, updates will be every other day. **

**And I still don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>Aang didn't think that Appa had ever flown so fast in his life. He had been flying strait for two days now and Aang could tell that his bison was tired, but they needed to get to the Southern Air Temple before it was too late. They had just entered the Patola Mountain Range so Aang knew they were close to their destination but a small voice inside of him told him that it wouldn't even matter. It was the Winter Solstice, for all he and Katara knew, the Yanari might have already been released. Kuruk's Journal hadn't been specific as to what time of day it had to be. Maybe Tau had already won…<p>

Aang shook his head to clear that thought from his mind. He couldn't be thinking like that, not now. He and Katara had been taking shifts on directing Appa. Right now that was what he was doing and she was lying in the saddle sleeping. However, once Aang saw the Southern Air Temple come into site, he knew he had to wake her up. First though, he just took a moment to look at his old home. Part of him was just happy that he was back here, regardless of the situation.

"Katara!" He finally yelled back to the saddle, "Katara wake up!"

A few moments later, Katara poked her head up from the saddle to look at him, rubbing some sleep from her eye in the process.

"We're here," he told her, and she quickly glanced up and saw the Air Temple looming before them.

It didn't look that much different than how it had looked when they had been here before but the two quickly spotted Tau's airship parked up at the top of the central spire. Aang knew that was where they needed to go to as well and he directed Appa straight to the top.

At first it seemed too easy. They just simply flew to it; however, once they were about a dozen feet away from the top of the spire, Appa was suddenly assaulted with a barrage of icicles. The bison roared in pain as a few of them pierced his skin but he kept on flying upwards. They were above the spire now, and Aang saw that there was a walkway on the outer edge of it. He also saw someone standing on the walkway and Aang assumed it was Tau. His thoughts were confirmed when another wave of icicles seemed to appear out of thin air and shoot straight up towards Appa.

Katara reacted quickly, standing up in the saddle and holding her hands out, turning the icicles back into water before they were able to reach Appa. As the bison began to level off, hovering just a few dozen feet above Tau, she shot the water back down to him. However, he simply just jumped out of the way.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aang jump off of Appa's head and down to Tau. He did a quick summersault in the air before firing a large blast of fire towards the Waterbender below. Aang though, having never fought Tau before, didn't expect what came next and was unable to block it. Tau had gathered a massive amount of water from the air, and sent it straight into the fire ball, extinguishing it before it even came close to hitting him. He followed up by blasting Aang with the water right before he was able to land on the walkway.

The blast shot Aang off the top of the spire and next thing he knew, he was free falling to the ground below.

Katara paid no attention to Tau and quickly jumped onto Appa's head, directing the bison downwards to chase Aang. Appa had to zigzag as he descended though as Tau had shot more waves of icicles after him. Katara urged Appa to go faster and right before Aang hit the ground below, the bison swooped under the Avatar, who fell softly onto the saddle with a little help from airbendering. Unfortunately, they were too close to the ground and Appa was unable to turn back upwards. Next thing Aang and Katara knew, Appa skidded across the ground as he tried to gain his footing before coming to a complete stop in what appeared to be a large courtyard. Pillars and rubble was scattered throughout it and Aang and Katara hopped off of Appa curiously as they tried to decide if they should simply try to fly straight be up to the top of the central spire again.

"You okay?" Katara asked him, glancing over to him concern.

"Yeah," Aang nodded, "You?"

"Doing great," Katara breathed out.

They cautiously began to walk down the courtyard, not really sure of what they were looking for but knowing that flying straight back up to the top of the spire might not be the best idea. Still though, Katara was beginning to believe that that was the only thing they could do.

"Aang," she started, "I think that maybe we should just…"

She was cut off when a crackling sound filled the air. Aang reacted on instinct, jumping in front of Katara and bringing a wall of earth up in front of them. The wall instantly shattered however as blast of lighting struck it. Aang and Katara both flinched from the resulting explosion, and the dozens of small pebbles that had pelted them, but they didn't have time to recover. Aang heard another lightning strike originate from somewhere and he quickly dove to the side, bringing Katara with him, just as the lightning struck the spot they had been moments ago. The couple had been knocked to the ground by the blast and Appa, who had been walking behind them, let out a loud, distressed groan and began to back away.

Aang sighed in relief as he noticed that his animal guide was getting himself too safely by backing up as far as he could go without leaving his master behind. Instead of worrying about him, he led Katara to run and take cover behind one of the many pillars in the courtyard just as the ground exploded behind them from another lightning strike.

Once they were behind the pillar, with their backs leaning against it, the couple took a moment to catch their breath before Aang cautiously peeked his head out from behind the pillar to see if he could find out where the attacker was. As it turned out, the attacker wasn't hard to find. He saw another flash of lighting appear from a balcony that was looking over the courtyard. He quickly moved back so he was completely behind the pillar as the lightning struck the side of it. A chuck of the pillar exploded, sending stone flying everywhere. Aang hissed as he felt the heat of the blast burn his skin slightly.

Katara looked at him in concern, wanting to help him but knowing that they didn't have any time for a healing session at the moment.

"Okay," Aang told her, "The lightning is coming up from a balcony overlooking us and about a few dozen feet up. Do you see it?"

Katara held up a finger in a silent request for Aang to give her a second before she looked around the side of the pillar, quickly spotting was Aang was talking about. She moved her head back into cover before another lightning strike came.

"Yeah, I see it," she said.

"We need to get up to their somehow," Aang explained.

"Yeah, but how?" Katara asked, "Those lightning blasts aren't exactly leaving us much of an opening to move."

As if on cue, another blast struck the pillar they were hiding behind, shaking the ground around them.

"Well, I don't think we can hide behind this thing much longer," Aang observed, noticing that their pillar was going to collapse on itself if it was hit a few more times.

He looked around to find the next closest pillar to them, seeing one a couple of dozen feet away.

"See that pillar?" Aang pointed to it, and he waited for Katara to nod in acknowledgment before he spoke again, "I'm going to try to get over to it. Once I get there, I'll cover you and you can make you way over to me."

"Okay," Katara told him, giving him a small nod, "I'm ready when you are."

Aang took a few more moments to prepare himself, feeling his heart beating loudly in his chest from nervousness. It was something he felt every time he got into a fight and this one was no exception. From Katara's rapid breathing, and spiraling emotions he was feeling from her, he knew that she was nervous to.

He took one last deep breath before jumping out from behind the pillar as he quickly ran over to the other one he had spotted. He used airbending to help himself run faster and he tried to ignore the sound of the ground erupting behind him from another blast of lightning. He made it to the pillar unhurt, if not a little rattled from the constant lightning blasts, and waited a few moments before motioning Katara to run over to him.

He saw her take a few deep breaths just like he had before she broke off from the pillar and sprinted towards him. Not wanting to risk the chance of lightning hitting her, Aang jumped out from behind his own pillar and punched his arms out, shooting a mixture of fire and airblasts towards the balcony. The balcony was at least a couple hundred feet away so he wasn't expecting to hit anything but to his surprise, one of his fire blasts seemed to be right on target. It flew through the air straight towards the balcony and for a second Aang thought that maybe it might stop whoever was shooting the lightning. However, that hope quickly vanished when a wall of earth rose from all sides of the balcony and the fire hit it harmlessly.

Despite that though, it gave Katara a few extra moments of safety as the lightning was unable to be shot as long as the earth wall was up. She easily made her way behind the pillar Aang had seen and once he was sure she was safe, Aang moved back behind it as well.

"Is it just me or did I see someone earthbend up there?" Katara asked him through deep, heavy breaths.

"It wasn't just you," Aang answered, "There are two benders up there. The firebender shooting the lightning and an earthbender who seems to be blocking anything we send up there. "

_Yeah, _they both thought to themselves, _this is __going __to be a problem._

* * *

><p>Things were actually going better than Sorin expected them to. For all intents and purposes, he and Ryu had the upper hand right now. The just had to make sure they kept an eye on the Avatar and his watertribe girl. They couldn't risk losing sight of them. The sky bison had long retreated to the very back of the courtyard so Sorin wasn't even paying any attention to it. Instead he was focusing on the two benders. He sent a couple lighting blasts towards the pillar he had just seen them run behind before halting his attacks, trying to coax the couple back out of hiding.<p>

"How much longer to you think we have to hold them off?" he asked Ryu. He didn't turn towards the earthbender though for he knew he needed to keep his eyes on the courtyard before them just in case their targets tried to make a run for it again.

Ryu shrugged beside him, "An hour, maybe a little more. Tau said earlier that from the looks of it, the beam of sunlight coming through that narrow window will hit the sunstone three hours after noon. From the position the sun is in, I'd say it's about two hours after noon right now."

"Great, so another fun hour of hide and go seek," Sorin rolled his eyes, making circular motions with his arms and shooting another blast of lighting when he saw the Avatar peeking out from behind the pillar he was still hiding behind.

"The situation could be a lot worse," Ryu told him, "At least we are keeping the Avatar at bay."

Sorin nodded in agreement before he saw that the Avatar was making another run for a pillar a few dozen feet away from him. He shot another couple lightning strikes down towards him, but each one missed. Just like what happened before, next thing he knew, the Avatar had shot a barrage of air and fire blasts towards him and Ryu had to make another earth wall to block the attacks. Once Ryu brought the earth wall down, they saw the watertribe girl disappear behind the new pillar that the Avatar had hide behind.

Sorin had to admit, it was a nice strategy the couple had worked up. The Avatar would sprint to a new pillar, send a few blasts up towards him and Ryu and then while Ryu's earth wall was in front of them, the girl would run to the pillar the Avatar had ran to earlier. The process repeated, and the couple was inching closer and closer to the balcony. They had started a few hundred feet away from he and Ryu but now Sorin estimated that they were only about one hundred feet away. Sure, he and Ryu were positioned high above them still but if the Avatar was able to get closer then he would just air bend himself up to the balcony and Sorin had no intention of facing him in close combat.

At one point, Ryu decided to not bend an earthwall up when the Avatar shot his usual bending blasts at them. It allowed Sorin to throw in a lighting strike at the watertribe girl when she attempted to run to the Avatar. Unfortunately though, the blast narrowly missed her and she made it too safely. However, because Ryu never put the earth wall up, he and Sorin were hit by several airblasts which had become more accurate as the Avatar got closer to them. The blasts knocked the two men down and by the time they were able to stand back up a few moments later, Sorin barely saw that the couple beneath them had managed to make an extra sprint to another pillar.

"Next time Ryu, just do your earthbending," Sorin told him, glaring at the earthbender irritably.

"Noted," Ryu answered, shrugging off the look that Sorin was giving him.

Sorin was beginning to have enough of this. The next time the Avatar made another run for a pillar, Sorin didn't try to shoot his lightning directly at him. Instead, Sorin shot the lightning in front of the Avatar, hoping that he would simply run into it. It was close to hitting him. The lighting struck the ground a few feet in front of the sprinting airbender and the blast threw him backwards several feet. While the Avatar was still down, Sorin shot another lightning blast directly at him. He saw the Avatar scrambling to his feet, swiftly jumping clear of the lightning and back behind the pillar that he had been hiding in before.

"Come on," Sorin whispered to himself, "Try that again."

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><p>Aang leaned up against the pillar while he tried to catch his breath, trying to ignore his throbbing head. That blast had been to close and had rattled his whole body. His vision had actually momentarily blurred when the explosion had occurred and Aang had been amazed that he had been able to retreat back to the pillar that he and Katara had been hiding behind.<p>

"I don't think we should try that again," Katara told him as calmly as she could, "I think they're catching on to what we're doing."

"Agreed," Aang gasped out.

Katara eyed him in concern. Her heart had nearly stopped when he had been almost it by the lightning and it was still aching from that moment. She forced herself to be strong though. She and Aang might not have that much time left to stop Tau.

"Maybe we should split up," She suggested and began to explain when Aang gave her a questioning look, "They can only shoot at one of us at a time. If we split up and go to separate sides of the courtyard than once of us can distract them while the other gets in closer."

Aang thought that plan over for a few moments before nodding, "I guess I'll be the decoy then since I can move faster. You try to sneak up on them and see what you can do."

"I…," Katara looked like she was about to argue, not liking the idea of Aang acting as bait but she quickly conceded, knowing that it was the most sensible thing, "Okay."

Aang took a deep breath, counted to ten, and then shot out from the pillar and took off into a sprint. He wasn't aiming for a specific destination. He just ran around and did his best to avoid the lightning strikes that were being sent down at him. The ground was erupting around him from the attacks and when once strike came dangerously close to him. He leaped high into the air, landing on the top of a pillar. He quickly jumped down though as another blast of lighting struck the pillar and blew the top of it off, narrowly missing him.

He zigzagged over to another pillar as more lighting strikes shot after him and he hide behind it to catch his breath for a couple of seconds. He looked around to try to find Katara but she was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't where he had seen her last so he knew she had to be making some progress. He just hoped that the two men on the balcony wouldn't spot her. He was close enough to them now that he could easily spot them. Wanting to keep their attention, he jumped out from behind the pillar again and sent air blasts up to them. As always, a wall of earth rose up to deflect the blasts followed by more lightning strikes when the wall disappeared.

Aang kept on evading though and every now and then he would send more blasts of air up to allow him to rest for just a few seconds. He didn't know how long he had been evading the blasts but those few seconds of time he got when the earth wall would come up were starting to become very precious to him. His movements were starting to slow as he grew more tired and his body ached from what he was doing. Aang knew that if he had taken more time to recover from the desert he wouldn't have gotten tired so quickly but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Unfortunately, Aang's slowing movements made him easier to hit. One blast of lighting came straight at him and he did the only thing he could do. Using the technique that Zuko had taught him years ago, Aang caught the lightning in once hand and used the other to direct it through his body. He could feel the power run through him but unfortunately, he was to weak to hold it any longer. He didn't have time to redirect it towards the balcony and the lighting just shot harmlessly out of his fingertips and into the skies. Aang instantly collapsed from exhaustion and he barely noticed that another streak of lightning was heading towards him.

Using what little strength he had, he raised his own earth wall to block it. The wall exploded in front of him and the blast threw him back roughly against a pillar. He collapsed to the ground and his whole vision became blurry. His ears were buzzing from how loud the explosion had been and he could barely make out anything. He stood up shaking his head in an attempt to clear his vision and looked up at the balcony, seeing one of the men getting ready to shoot another blast of lighting at him. Aang knew that he wouldn't have the strength to dodge it and he also knew this was the blast that might be the end for him.

However, an icicle suddenly shot up to the balcony seemingly from nowhere and impaled the firebender right in the shoulder. Aang heard the man let out a quick yell as the man's arms shifted downwards from the pain so that they were aimed at the floor of the balcony just as the lighting discharged from the man's fingertips.

The entire balcony was suddenly engulfed in flames and Aang was unable to see anything through the smoke that rose from it. He just stared to where the balcony had been, shocked by what he had just seen. The smoke finally dissipated after a few moments and the balcony wasn't even there anymore. It was just gone and Aang didn't even need to guess what had happened to the two men. He let out a shaky breath and fell to his knees on the ground, partly from exhaustion and partly from surprise.

He looked around, seeing Katara emerge from a pile of rubble way off to the side of the courtyard. So that was where she had been, he realized. She had moved away from all the pillars and instead chose to use the rubble for cover. Aang knew that the ice shard that had resulted from the two men's death came from her and he could tell that she was shaken up about it. After all, she had never really been responsible for anyone's death before.

"Aang I…I" she stuttered once she stood over him, looking down at him regretfully and pulling at one of her strands of hair, "I'm sorry…"

Aang's eyes widened, knowing why she was saying sorry to him. He hated the idea of taking a life, she was probably terrified of what he thought of her now.

"I…I just," she continued, not seeming to know what to say, "I just saw you go down and I didn't think there was anything else I could do and…"

Aang quickly stood up and placed a finger over her lips to silence her, "Shh, you don't have to explain anything, I understand."

Katara face suddenly turned to a look of relief but she still seemed to be questioning him, "But…"

"Look," he interrupted, trying to reassure her, leaning against the pillar as he tried to regain his strength "I know that I would never be able to take a life but I'm not going to hate anyone for doing that if they had a good reason to…especially you. It's okay Katara"

"O-okay Aang," she sighed and hung her arms to her sides. She could tell that Aang was shaken up about it, she was a little to, but as long as he didn't hate her for it she felt okay. While she didn't believe in killing people, she wasn't completely against doing it if circumstances called for it. She had threatened Zuko at the Western Air Temple and she had meant it at the time. As far as she was concerned the situation here hadn't been that different. Those men had been about to kill Aang and she did what she needed to keep him alive. Despite her confidence though that she had done the right thing, she knew in the back of her mind that she would be questioning it later. For now, they still needed to get up to the top of the temple and stop Tau.

She heard a groan beside her and saw that Appa had walked up to them after seeing that the coast was clear. The couple boarded the bison in silence before he took off towards the top of the central spire. He flew in circles, outlining the sides of the spire and staying close to the walls of it so that Tau wouldn't be able to see them coming up if he was still standing on the walkway waiting for them. Luckily for them though, he wasn't and Katara figured that he had gone inside, thinking that his companions would be able to handle her and Aang.

Appa landed on the outer walkway at the top of the spire and Katara and Aang quickly jumped off and cautiously began to walk to the doorway leading inside…

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><p>Tau stood over the podium, looking down at the sunstone anxiously. He wasn't just looking at that though, he was looking at a small beam of sunlight that was slowly making its way across the podium and towards the sunstone.<p>

_Thirty minutes, _he thought to himself, _Thirty minutes and the Yanari will be released._

Suddenly he heard the doors open behind him. He turned around expecting Ryu and Sorin to walk in a say that they had taken out the Avatar but instead, he saw the Avatar and Katara walking towards him, each looking slightly tired but ready for a fight.

"Where are Ryu and Sorin?" Tau asked, blue eyes gazing at Aang intently.

Aang and Katara exchanged glances before Aang turned his head back to address Tau, "It's over okay, stop this right now."

Aang might have imagined it but he saw a brief look of sorrow flash across Tau's face.

Tau closed his eyes and breathed in a deep breath, knowing full well what happened to his two friends. He pushed back the sadness he felt, knowing it wouldn't do him any good. He could mourn their deaths later, this wasn't over yet. He opened his eyes again and glared at Aang angrily.

"If I stop now then their deaths would mean nothing," Tau said, pulling a steam of water from the air and gathering it around him, "Do you really want to fight me?"

"You can't win Tau," Katara spat at him sharply, suddenly feeling the anger she had towards him coming back full force, "You're going to pay for everything you've done!"

"You really think you have an edge on me don't you?" Tau raised his eyebrows.

"Tau, we don't have to fight," Aang spoke up again pleadingly, "You're outnumbered, and this will only end badly for you."

"I'm outnumbered?" Tau smiled wickedly, "What makes you think that?"

Aang and Katara exchanged confused glances before looking back at Tau curiously.

"More specifically," Tau continued, "Do you really think your precious Waterbender is on your side?"

Aang suddenly felt a change in his connection with Katara. It was something he didn't recognize and he had no idea what it meant. He looked at her, seeing her shift her gaze between him and Tau confusedly before her eyes fell somewhere in between. She seemed lost…

"After all," Tau continued once again, "When it comes to love…." he paused, gaze turning towards Katara confidently, "everything may not be quite what it seems. Katara…kill him."

"What?" Aang spurted out in shock and looked over to his soul mate only to see her blast him backwards with a stream of water that she had pulled out of the air.

Aang was knocked onto his back and he grunted from the impact. He slowly stood up, not sure what was going on and gazed at Katara in shock.

"Katara what are you doing?" he asked pleadingly.

She didn't seem to hear him though. She walked slowly to him, her eyes not seeming to recognize him, and Aang started to slowly back up. There was something else wrong with those eyes to. Aang looked closer and gasped…her pupils were dilated, there was hardly any blue left in them. Aang suddenly felt his heart nearly break. The only time he had seen someone act the way Katara was acting now was Jet…under Lake Laogai…when Long Feng had brainwashed him.

"Having a Dai Li agent as a companion has its advantages," Tau said, slowly walking down the stairs leading up to the podium and standing slightly behind Katara, who was gazing at Aang menacingly.

Aang gasped, realizing that the earthbender that was with Tau was an older Dai Li agent. He also realized that she must have been brainwashed between the time of her capture and his own arrival on the airship days ago. Tau had planned this. Just in case they made it out of the desert, Tau had made sure that he had one more card to play. To Aang, it was sick that Tau had decided to use Katara against him…that he was trying to force him to fight her.

"Now, I do believe the odds are fair," Tau said, tilting his head towards Katara and smiling slightly, "Right Katara?"

She didn't answer him. Instead, she kept facing Aang as she brought her water up in front of her and charged forwards.

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><p><strong>For those of you that think Katara's brainwash thing just came out of nowhere...it didn't. It was hinted at. For those of you that don't believe me, read chapter 19 again. <strong>

**Anyways, review and the next chapter will be up Saturday.  
><strong>


	30. Kill Him

**Okay, so this is easily the shortest chapter in the fic. Its basically because I divided up this fight into chapters based on who is fighting who**. **Sorry its short, but I don't like dragging things out just for the sake of making them longer.**

**I don't own Avatar.**

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><p>Aang jumped backwards as a stream of water sliced through the air right in front of him. He didn't know what to do. How could he bring himself to fight <em>Katara?<em>

While Aang was struggling on what to do, Katara seemed to have her mind completely made up. Tau's brainwashing obviously had done its job well. He could see it in her eyes; she wanted to kill him and right now that was all she was focused on. Aang was forced to evade even more as Katara continued her attacks. She sent streams of water towards him in a slicing motion and he couldn't help but notice that the streams would freeze into ice which led him to believe that she was trying to spear him with the water. His heart broke; she was actually trying to wound him. It was impossible to deny it now; for all intents and purposes, Katara was no longer with him at the moment. However, he still couldn't bring himself to hurt her, no matter what.

He didn't strike back; he just kept evading the streams of water that were sent at him as Katara kept charging him furiously. It was tiring; he was already low on energy from fighting a fire bender and an earth bender and he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to do this. His body was recovering from dehydration and near death and now this. But he knew what he had to do. He had to get to the sunstone that was lying in the podium before the ray of sunlight hit it. All he needed to do was get over there and grab it…it shouldn't be too hard.

Aang glanced off to the side to where the podium was and saw that Tau was no longer standing next to it.

_Where'd he go?_

The distraction of thought was enough to give Katara time to get closer to him and next thing he knew, they were only a few feet apart. Aang quickly jumped up and over her head just as she sliced some water at his feet and he landed behind her. She quickly reacted though, freezing the water she had as she turned around before shooting dozens of sharp icicles at him.

Aang raised an earth wall between him and the sharp objects and not even a second later he heard them collide harmlessly against the other side of his self-made cover. He gasped…he was getting really low on energy. Before he could do anything else though, a sharp water whip hit him in the back of the head and he let out a small yelp of pain as his head shot forward and collided with the wall of earth as a result from the amount of force that the water whip had held. He felt himself become dazed for a few moments and he barely regained his senses when another water whip hit him against the wall.

He struggled to tell what was happening, Blood began seeping into his eyes and his whole head was throbbing but he managed to turn around to see Tau sending another water whip straight at him. Aang swiftly created another wall of earth around him so that it was positioned between him and Tau, thereby protecting him from a third water whip. Unfortunately, he realized soon after that Katara had run around his wall and was attacking him again. A barrage of icicles were thrown at him and Aang had to jump to the side to avoid the attack. However, he wasn't quick enough as one of the icicles grazed one of his sides, cutting through his shirt and leaving a bloody gash. He grunted as one of his hands shot up to hold his side in an automatic response. Katara wasn't letting him have any chance to take a break though. She shot wave after wave of icicles at him and Aang had no choice but to keep doing his evade tactics that he knew so well.

He was so caught up in keeping an eye on what Katara was doing that he once again lost sight of Tau. Seconds after Aang realized that though, a massive wave of water hit him and knocked him to the ground as he landed on his now hurt side. He switched his gaze over to where the attack had come from and he saw Tau running straight towards him with another wave of water at his disposal. A moment later the wall of water was heading directly at him and Aang swiftly got up. He jumped up, spinning his body in the air before shooting his arms out in Tau's direction. A powerful blast of fire left the palm of his hands.

The fire blasted straight through the water and continued onwards towards Tau. At first, Aang thought that Tau wouldn't survive the blast but then Katara seemed to come out of nowhere and she positioned herself in between the fire blast and Tau.

Time almost seemed to stop for Aang. For one dreadful moment, he thought that Katara was just going to let the blast hit her but then she suddenly maneuvered more water in front of her and froze it. It acted as a shield. The fire blast struck the ice head on and though the ice shattered from the force behind the blast, Katara and Tau were both unharmed. Aang felt a mixture of relief and dread flow through him. He couldn't keep doing this, it was killing him physically and emotionally.

"Katara please snap out of it?" He pleaded eyes on his soul mate, "It's me, Aang! You don't want to do this! Please…" he choked.

Katara evaporated all the water she had into the air and her eyes seemed to gain some of their recognition back in them. Aang let out a small sigh of relief when he saw that her pupils became less dilated.

"Don't let him trick you Katara," Tau said from behind her, "The Avatar deserves to be killed. Your mother's death is on his hands. Don't you think he deserves to be punished?"

Katara eyes became heavily dilated again after Tau spoke; he clearly held a big influence over her at the moment and Aang shook his head desperately.

"Stop lying to her!" He yelled at Tau, shooting out a blast of air from his hand at the older Waterbender only to have Katara block it just as she had done with the fire blast.

"He's right?" she said, eyeing Aang, who was surprised to hear her speak, darkly, "You ran away, you allowed the war to start and she's dead because of that…because of _you_!"

Her words hit a spot in Aang's heart and he felt a pang of guilt run through him. What she said could arguably be true. It became quite clear to Aang at that moment, Tau had tricked her when he brainwashed her. He had taken an event and twisted it into his favor. In this case, he put the blame of Kya's death on Aang, thereby forcing Katara to see him as an enemy.

Did she know who she was attacking though? That was what confused Aang. He wasn't sure if she was seeing him as simply the Avatar at the moment or Aang…her boyfriend, soul mate, and pretty much her whole world. Were those things just simply wiped from her mind at the moment? They had to be. Aang refused to believe that she would actually try to hurt him if she knew exactly who he was, brainwashed or not.

Aang came out of his thoughts as Tau walked up to stand beside Katara glancing over at her encouragingly.

"You can have your revenge on your mother's killer right now," he told her, "The Avatar's weak…finish him." Aang had his question answered.

She once again charged forward and just like last time, Aang was forced to evade her attacks. However, this time her strikes seemed stronger but more uncontrolled and that made things difficult for Aang. There was no fluidity in her movements, just sheer raw power with a lot of anger behind it. Even with airbending, he had to push himself harder to evade the attacks. Things just became worse when Tau joined in with her. Between the two of them, there wasn't much Aang could do.

He still couldn't bring himself to hurt Katara so attacking her was out of the question. Between dodging the water that the two waterbenders sent at him, he tried to throw some air blasts at Tau but he would just simply evade them.

Aang just couldn't get a clear shot at the older Waterbender. If he stopped evading, even for a moment, he was sure he would get hit and then it would be all over. If he was knocked down now, there would be no getting back up. Tau wouldn't allow him to. The constant movement made it hard though to counterattack against Tau.

During his evading, Aang spotting the podium in the center of the room after once again having to forget about it while he fought. Aang made what he believed to be his final decision. He just needed to destroy the sunstone, what happened to him after that wouldn't matter. Even if Tau and Katara still managed to kill him afterward, the world would still be safe. He didn't even know how much time he had left before the Yanari were released; he had to move fast.

Taking his attention off of Tau, he began to make his way over to the podium while dodging the constant waves of water and icicles that were sent at him. Tau attempted to jump in front of him to stop him but Aang simply airbended himself over his head. It was just a straight shot to the podium now. He quickly ran up the flight of stairs leading to the podium before he was able to get a good look at it. The sun stone was there, lying in it and the sunlight was just mere inches from hitting it.

Aang reached his hand out with the intention of taking the sun stone out of its cradle but a body suddenly collided against his, knocking him off the space around the podium. Aang quickly realized it was Tau and the two of them fell down the flight of stairs roughly. Right before they reached the bottom, Aang placed one of his hands on Tau's chest and shot him back with an air blast so strong that it sent the waterbender dozens of feet backwards and roughly against the wall.

Aang finally reached the bottom of the staircase and his body became still. Everything hurt to him and his open wound was soaking his clothing. He had banged his head against the stairs a few times and the rest of his body felt bruised and broken from the fall. Grunting, he struggled to his feet, he looked in front of him to see Tau also struggling to get up. Aang wasn't going to let him. He had to end this now. He needed to get back to the top.

He took a few steps towards Tau when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw a spear of ice had been shot through him from behind. He stumbled a few steps forwards before falling to his knees roughly as blood poured out from the wound. He tried to move but he couldn't as the weight from the back of the spear caused him to continue his fall. He didn't have the strength to get up and he was now struggling to stay conscious.

He heard footsteps come closer to him and he felt a foot push him over so that he was lying on his back making the spear travel farther through body. Katara was glaring down at him menacingly, with another ice spear hovering next to her, ready to deal the finishing blow.

Aang didn't have the strength to resist. He couldn't fight back anymore. His whole body was in agony and the metallic taste in his mouth helped him realize that he would probably bleed to death in a few minutes.

"Nice work Katara," he heard Tau say somewhere off to the side, "Now finish him."

"No Katara…don't," Aang mumbled weakly, in a last attempt to turn her back to normal, "This isn't you. Don't listen to him. I love you!" he coughed at the end spitting blood out of his mouth.

Katara just stood over him, her gaze not leaving his battered body and Aang was unable to tell if anything he had said registered to her. A few moments later though, she closed her eyes and her heard her let out a deep sigh.

Katara felt everything come back to her. Seeing Aang in his current condition and his words had snapped her out of it and her heart broke at knowing that she did this to him. What was she thinking? She opened her eyes again and knelt down next to him, her broken eyes meeting his weak grey ones.

Aang could see the change in her now and sighed. She was back; the guilt and worry that showed through her eyes told him that. She was about to begin sobbing when Aang's quiet voice halted her.

"Tau, you have to stop him," Aang murmured, so quietly that Tau was unable to hear from his sspot a couple dozen feet away from them, "Don't worry about me."

"Aang…" she said, trying not to let tears fall from her eyes as she slid some water into the wound on his side hoping it would to heal him. It wasn't the best thing she could do but they didn't have much time. She just hoped it would at least keep him alive until she was able to heal him fully, once Tau was out of the way. She bit her lip as she looked into her soul mate's eyes, "I'm so sorry."

Anything that Aang would have said was interrupted by Tau.

"Kill him…NOW!" Tau ordered.

Katara slowly stood up, seeing Aang give her a small nod. In one motion, she spun around to face Tau and let out an angered cry before blasting him with as much water as she could muster. Tau didn't suspect it and it threw him back several feet before he regained his footing. Katara didn't give him any recovery time as she threw another water blast at him before running at him continuing her attacks.

This was the man who had nearly ruined her life and she wasn't going to let him win.

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><p><strong>Review and next chapter will be up on Monday.:)<strong>


	31. Destiny

**I still don't own Avatar**

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><p>She was strong, Tau would give her that much, but he was the more experienced one. So truth be told, he wasn't all that worried anymore on whether he would win or not. Katara's attacks were just filled with rage and none of them seemed all that coordinated. She just threw stream after stream of water at him and he simple absorbed her strikes with his own ball of water. He was just playing defensive, which was all that he needed to do. He didn't have to beat her at all in the fight, he just needed to distract her for the next ten or so minutes it would take for the Yanari to be released. It amused him slightly that Katara didn't even appear to be concerned about the Yanari though, she was directing all of her energy to attacking him. He couldn't blame her after all that he had done to her but then again, that was part of his strategy against her. He wanted her to be completely focusing her anger on him and for her to simply forget about the sun stone. It wasn't often that his plans didn't go as he expected and this time was no exception.<p>

He froze an ice wall in front of himself when she shot dozens of icicles at him before she charged at him once again slicing the water at him as she got closer. He ducked and jumped over the streams of water before he finally found an opening to attack in between her wild strikes. Right after he jumped to the side to avoid another stream of water, Tau shot a wave of water that was much bigger than her own straight at her. She was too focused in trying to attack him again that Katara didn't even see the wave coming and she was knocked backwards. She didn't let that slow her down though and right when she hit the ground she rolled back onto her feet and threw a large spear-like icicle at Tau. He simply waved his hand off to the side though, directing the icicle away from him and leading it to collide with the wall a couple dozen feet behind him.

"You know," Tau told her, smiling a little, "I wasn't really sure if that brainwashing would work on you till I actually used it," he paused before glancing at the Avatar's prone body at the other side of the massive room, "If he dies, I'll make sure to let everyone know who really killed the Avatar."

Katara was breathing heavily, glaring daggers at him as he calmly began to walk closer to her. She tried to ignore what he was saying. Aang was still alive, she could feel it, though she wasn't sure how much longer he would last without a proper healing…he did lose a lot of blood.

"I didn't think you had it in you," Tau continued, "Even if he does live…I find it hard to believe that he would trust you anymore after you just attempted to kill him."

"Shut Up!" Katara screamed at him, bending as much water as she could towards him.

Tau simply redirected it back at her and she once again took control over it only to have a much larger wave of water crash down upon her. Its impact forced her down to the ground and when she tried to get up, she was met with another wave that forced her back down again.

"I willing to bet that it was you that killed Ryu and Sorin," Tau snarled, bending some more water from the air as he eyed the young Waterbender that was struggling to get back up on her feet, "You are going to regret that."

He brought another wave of water down on her just as she got back up and she was unable to block it as it forced her back to the ground. She was weak, she didn't have that much energy left in her and Tau knew that she didn't have much fight left in her either.

"You and the Avatar just should have kept away from here," Tau growled at her, crashing another wave of water on top of her when he saw her trying to get up again, "What good were you expecting to do? You thought you had the strength to fight me after you're little trip in the desert?"

He sent another wave at her and this time she attempted to block it by raising her hand above her in an attempt to change the direction of the water. However, she only managed to redirect the front of the wave and the rest of the water was enough to keep her down on the ground.

She was soaked. Her wet hair clung to her, her clothes were drenched with water and the room suddenly felt like it was freezing. Katara felt her whole body shiver and she stopped trying to get up. Tau was only going to force her back down again if she tried and she knew she didn't have the energy to fight back.

"Ryu and Sorin were the only two people I have trusted in years," Tau told her, as he slowly walked closer to her, "You took them from me…"

"Yeah and you took my mother from me so I guess were even then huh?" Katara interrupted venomously, gazing up at him sharply from the floor.

Tau shrugged, "If that's the way you wish to see it I then I suppose. Then again, your mother's death was years ago. Maybe it's about time that you should just forget about her…"

Katara screamed in anger, finding the strength to stand up quickly and attempted to punch him. She even surprised herself. She didn't even bend, her fist just seemed to have a mind of its own and that smug face of his was its target. It proved to be a mistake though as Tau simply caught her fist with one of his hands before twisting her arm roughly, causing Katara to exhale a pained yelp. Tau used his other hand to bend some water straight into her face, making sure to put a lot of power behind the strike and the result was that Katara was knocked roughly down onto her back.

Everything became a blur to her after that. Tau was clearly done playing around with her. He allowed her to get back up but then Katara was just assaulted with wave after wave of water. She tried her best to fight back, but for the most part she was just tossed around the room like a ragdoll. She could hardly even tell what was happening and the only thing that existed to her right now where the waves of water that continued to pound her. Some of it was even ice and it tore into her skin. She didn't know how long Tau kept at it but she eventually found herself lying on the ground once again, cuts and bruises all over her body and her watertribe outfit was torn nearly to shreds by the ice that had cut her. Holes were everywhere on the outfit and the skin that was revealed through the wholes was marked with her own blood. Her whole body was throbbing with pain and the cold that the water had brought to her didn't help anything.

Tau gazed at her beaten form angrily. It was one of the few times that he let his anger get out of control but as far as he was concerned, she deserved every bit of punishment he dealt out. The Yanari would be released in a few minutes though; he figured it would probably best to finish this before then.

He froze some water into a sharp dagger of ice and slowly made his way over to her. Suddenly though, a gust of air hit him from behind. It wasn't a strong blast but it was enough to make him stumble forwards a few steps and he turned around sharply to see that the Avatar was wobbling on his feet, gazing at him defiantly.

"You're not going to hurt her anymore," He threatened weakly.

Tau laughed. The boy sounded beaten and his comment held no menace behind it at all. It was a miracle that he was actually standing, especially with part of the ice spear still lodged in his body. Tau only assumed that this was the Avatar's last ditch effort to stop him.

_Foolish boy._

Tau unfroze the water he had and sent a wave towards the weakened Avatar who attempted to bring up a wall of earth to block it but he wasn't quick enough. He fell to the ground and Tau followed up by grabbing his ankle with a tendril of water. He used it to lift the Avatar off the ground before throwing him roughly against the wall. The impact was so strong that there was actually a dent in the wall where the Avatar had hit it and when he fell back to the ground, he didn't get back up. He didn't even move.

Satisfied that the Avatar was taken care of, Tau turned his attention back to the Waterbender, who was looking at the fallen Avatar's body in shock and he could see a few tears form from her eyes.

"It was a noble effort by him," Tau told her, "But it still won't save you."

With that, he sent another powerful wave of water at her and Katara's vision when black and unknown to her, the ray of sunlight began to brush against the edge of the sunstone.

* * *

><p>She found herself in a white, open, and empty space. Katara looked around herself in confusion, trying to figure out where she was at.<p>

_Katara._

She swiftly looked around again at the sound of her name. It was spoken in a soothing voice filled with recognition.

_Katara._

She couldn't find out where it was coming from. It just seemed to be a whisper in the air. Katara closed her eyes in an attempt to chase the voice from her head but when she opened them again, she gasped in shock at what she saw.

In the middle of the white empty space that surrounded her stood someone that she hadn't seen in years, but yet someone she had so desperately wanted to see again. The person that stood in front of her looked like an older version of herself but Katara knew that wasn't true. The person standing in front of her was more than that…so much more.

"Mom?" the single word left Katara's lips softly in disbelief. She blinked her eyes rapidly as if not quite believing it to be true. When the women didn't disappear though, Katara knew she was really there. She quickly ran forward and did the one thing she hadn't done in so many years: she hugged her mother, Kya.

She couldn't help herself. When her mother's arms came around her to hold her gently she let out a few tears of joy and buried her head into her mother's robes. Kya brought them both down to kneel onto the floor as she continued to hold her daughter before the younger girl broke away from her, looking up at her with eyes full of questions.

"I-I don't understand, h-how…"

When Katara seemed at a loss for words, Kya pulled her into a hug once again, letting her daughter cling to her desperately as if her life depended on it.

"I was never completely gone," Kya whispered into her daughters ear, and her voice seemed to quiet the younger girl instantly, "Death just means moving on to another life; here, in the spirit world. I have been watching over you every day and I'm so sorry for all the pain that you have had to go through over the years."

Katara clung to her tighter, still overwhelmed at what was happening as Kya began speaking once again.

"I wish every day that things could have been different but I am so proud at what you have accomplished," she said, pulling away from Katara slightly to look at her with a comforting smile on her face.

Katara could help but smile back through teary eyes and she finally found the will to speak, "I don't understand though. How are you here? What's happening? Is this the spirit world?"

Kya smiled and shook her head while moving her hand across her daughter's cheeks to wipe the tears away, "Not quite. This is a place in between the physical world and the spirit world. As for how you are here…your connection with the Avatar made that possible. It allowed me to come and see you while your own spirit is detached from your physical self."

"W-wait," Katara's eyes widened, "Am I…dead?"

"No you're not," Kya assured her, "Your body is just in a state of unconsciousness."

"Oh," Katara looked down, suddenly feeling slightly disappointed, "That means you're not going to be here forever…I'm going to lose you again…"

Kya gently nudged Katara's chin up to give her a soft smile, "Don't think like that. You still have a whole life ahead of you and whether you can see me or not, I'll always be watching over you."

Katara didn't really know what to say to that and she just looked down again before falling back into her mother's embrace.

"You've been so unsure of yourself lately," Kya told her knowingly, "You've been questioning your entire purpose in this world because of everything that you have gone through recently."

"I…"

"Don't," Kya interrupted gently, "Don't let things deter you away from what you know is true. Your destiny, your purpose, lies with Aang…just how you believed it was. He is the Avatar; his duty is to keep the world in balance. Just as Gran Gran told you; you found him for a reason and now your destiny is intertwined with his; not matter how much things may seem to tell you differently."

"But," Katara pulled away, looking into Kya's eyes, seeking for explanations, "I've messed up so many times in the past few months. Tau used me as bait for Aang, I wasn't able to stop Aang and I from dying in the desert," Katara paused, before speaking out regretfully, "I even attacked him…I almost killed him."

"Katara," Kya said softly, pulling her daughter back to her, "Nobody's perfect and you can't blame yourself for Tau's actions. He knows your relationship with Aang and he took advantage of it. That same connection though is what can benefit the world in the end. Your destiny is to help Aang with his own duty. It always has been, and always will be, exactly that. He needs you and right now, he needs you more than ever. He no longer has the strength to stop Tau."

Katara was silent for a few moments, taking it all in, before asking tentatively, "Did you know Tau, mom?"

Kya nodded, resting her chin on top of her daughter's head, "I did, he was just a few years younger than your father and I. He was a troubled kid; his parents had died when he was very young."

"Is what he told me about dad true?" Katara questioned.

Kya was silent for a few moments as she thought about what to say before telling Katara gently, "What your father did…it's something you need to talk to him about but…yes, Tau's story was nearly identical to the one that your father told me when he came back from that battle. Your father was very upset and felt guilty about the whole thing so try not to be too hard on him okay?"

"Okay," Katara conceded, "But…what it led to…"

"Doesn't matter," Kya said, "I am aware that Tau was the one that told the Southern Raiders about you."

"He's going to regret that," Katara pulled away from her and narrowed her eyes darkly, "He's a monster."

"He's just misguided," Kya corrected, "There is still good in him, it's just hidden deep down by all of the betrayal and pain that he has gone through. You don't know his whole story. I'm not saying that you should forgive him but you have to understand that he is a very complicated man."

"That doesn't change what he did," Katara pointed out.

"You're right, it doesn't," Kya nodded, "You decide what you do with him but just think about it before you do it."

Katara nodded and then suddenly Kya's form began to shimmer in front of her, "Mom?"

"We're running out of time," Kya stated, pulling Katara into a hug one last time, "Don't be upset okay? We'll see each other again one day."

"I know mom," Katara choked out as tears began to spill from her eyes again as she realized her mother was leaving, "I'll miss you."

"Just don't forget what I told you," Kya said as her form began to slowly disappear and Katara could feel her mother's embrace slowly disappear around her to the point where she couldn't feel anything at all and she could only hear that sound of her mother's soothing voice filling the air, "Your destiny lies with Aang and helping him keep the world in balance. His destiny is to protect the world, yours is to protect him. Go back to him, where you're needed, and don't ever lose faith in yourself…"

* * *

><p>Katara opened her eyes in confusion to see Tau staring down at her with fire in his eyes. At his side hovered a spear of ice pointed directly at her.<p>

"You're tough, I'll give you that," Tau conceded, drawing the spear backwards with his bending, "It's over though."

For a second, she found herself agreeing with him. Her body was battered, her clothes were torn, and she felt completely exhausted. Then she remembered her mother's visit and she was instantly reminded of everything her mother had told her. That knowledge, that certainty of her place in the world, gave her newfound strength and just as Tau brought the spear down towards her, she rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike before kicking her legs out to swipe Tau off of his feet. Katara quickly regained her footing as she stood up as Tau quickly rolled back to his feet just as she attempted to bring a stream of water down on top of him. The water collided harmlessly with the ground and Tau just stared at her for a few moments in a quick moment of shock before coming back to his senses.

He charged forward, bringing a stream of water with him as he shot it out towards her and to his surprise, she easily caught the massive wave and turned it back straight at him. Tau had to make another wave to block it from hitting him. The bodies of water collided against each other and the resulting splash drenched Tau with water that clouded his vision. Before he could regain his focus, Katara ran at him, ignoring the pain that shot through her beaten body as she did so, and knocked him backwards with a water whip before freezing the water and sending half a dozen ice shards at a still dazed Tau.

The ice shards came down on him just as he figured out what was going on. He was able to deflect most of the shards but two made it past his defenses. One grazed his sides and the other impaled him right in the shoulder, and he let out a soft grunt before gathering any amount of water he could and holding it out defensively in front of him.

Katara gazed daggers at him and he could tell that she wasn't beaten yet. Somehow, she had gotten some fight back in her. He threw his wave of water at her and to his shock, she suddenly gathered an amount of water that equaled his own from the air and blocked his own wave with it. Things seemed to stand still after that. Katara looked as shocked as he was at what she had just done.

She didn't care how she had managed to do it, especially in her weakened condition but part of her suspected it was because she had a newfound purpose. Maybe that had given her the confidence to pull off the technique that Tau used…that same technique she had struggled with a couple of weeks before. Either way, she attempted it again and she was able to pull some more water from the air that was bigger than anything that Tau had done. She could see the look of shock on the older waterbender's face and her mouth slowly quirked into a smile.

_Payback time_.

She commanded waves of water towards him over and over again and as powerful as Tau was, he wasn't able to keep up with it. He was too surprised at the turn of events and on top of that, he was not used to being on the defensive. While most waterbending techniques focused on defensive strategies, his own self-created one had been mostly of the offensive type. He had never had to play defense in a fight for quite a long time and it became quite clear to him that Katara knew how to use his own technique to its full potential.

She kept up her attacks, forcing him to stumble backwards. Waves of water began to hit him from all sides. He was able to redirect some of the waves away from him but she would just quickly bend another wave to come up behind him. Before long, Tau found himself unable to keep up and he was roughly knocked to the ground.

Katara only stopped her attacks for a couple of seconds, seeing that he was beaten, and she decided to finish it. She incased him in a ball of water before bending the water up to the top of the room. Then, she brought it roughly back down to the ground where the ball of water exploded into a heavy mist that filled the room.

It took several seconds for the mist to clear but when it did, she saw his motionless form lying on the ground. She cautiously walked over to him and as she got closer, she could hear him breathing. He was still alive…but did she want that? Part of her wanted to kill him for everything that he had done but part of her told her that she wasn't a killer. She couldn't kill someone that was currently helpless no matter who it was. Truth be told, she found herself in a similar situation that she had been in when she confronted Yan Rha a couple of years ago and as much as she hated to admit it, she knew the outcome would be the same. She couldn't kill Tau, not when he was already beaten. He was no longer a threat.

Suddenly the whole temple began to shake and the suddenness of it caused Katara to nearly lose her footing. She regained her balance before she fell and looked around in confusion.

_Where is that coming from?_

A deep rumbling sound filled her ears and she quickly realized what it was.

_The Yanari, they're being release…_

Katara wasn't sure if it was already too late but she acted fast. She ran up to the podium and climbed the flight of stairs to reach the top to see a ray of sunlight hitting the sunstone. Katara did the only thing she could think of. She reached out and removed the stone from its cradle, hoping that it will stop the rumbling that Katara knew had some connection to the Yanari escaping their prison. The rumbling was coming deep from within the Air Temple and to her dismay; it didn't stop when the stone was removed. Maybe it was already too far into the process and the Yarani's release couldn't be stopped now…

If they were going to get out then she knew that her and Aang needed to get out of here…fast. She turned her attention to where she had last seen his body and to her surprise; he was struggling to get up.

She quickly ran to him and helped him stand up only to have him look at her in confusion.

"Katara?" he said weakly, "What's happening?"

"It's started Aang," Katara told him, "The Yanari…they're being freed."

Aang's eyes widened and the temple's shaking seemed to double in an instant causing the couple to both stumble forwards before Katara caught them both.

"Come on," she said, "We need to get out of here before things turn ugly."

When she tried to pull him back outside to where Appa would be waiting, Aang used all of his strength to keep himself in his place and she quickly turned around when she noticed that he refused to come with her.

"No," he shook his head, "We can't just leave."

"Aang I don't think we have much of a choice…" Katara began but Aang interrupted her.

"Maybe we do," he speculated, "If this Temple is what will let the Yanari out then maybe…"

Katara noticed a look of sadness flash across his face and she quickly became concerned, "Aang?"

He took a few steps backwards and turned his attention to Tau's unconscious form a few dozen feet away from them, "We just can't leave him behind, take him and get to Appa. I'll take care of this and meet you out there."

Katara was about to protest but the look on his face stopped her. She just did what he asked and walked over to haul Tau to his feet before dragging his body out to Appa.

Aang watched her go before turning around. He looked around him sadly as the rumbling continued throughout the Temple. He hated what he would have to do but if the Southern Air Temple, his own home, was what allowed the Yanari to be released then maybe…destroying it would stop the Yanari's release permanently. If the Southern Air Temple was no longer there, the Yanari would be trapped forever, they would unable to be released if the source of their escape no longer existed.

Aang tried not to think about it, knowing that he wouldn't like the idea no matter what was at stake. Before he could second guess himself, he closed his eyes and focused on his connection with the past Avatars. Moments later, he felt a surge of energy rush through him and he knew he had done exactly what he needed to. He was in the Avatar State. His eyes and tattoos glowed a bright blue and power surged through his body, empowering him with the strength of thousands of his past lives.

He bent down, placing his hands on the floor and sent a surge of energy down into the rest of the Air Temple. Everything fell apart after that. The Earthbending surge he sent down shattered the structural support for the temple and as he came out of the Avatar State, he could hear the temple crumble beneath him. He just stood there motionless for several moments as he listened to his home fall apart. He didn't even notice the rumbling from the Yanari's release stop. All he could focus on was what he had just done as a sharp pain filled his heart.

He felt the room began to tilt and he quickly regained his senses. He stumbled outside, seeing Katara waiting for him on Appa, who seemed very distressed.

"What did you do!" Katara cried, looking down at the temple that was beginning to crumble into pieces..

She saw Aang jump onto Appa's head, not answering her question, before he guided Appa into the skies. Seconds later, they heard a loud crack and they looked back as Aang directed Appa to hover in the skies a safe distance away from the Temple. What they saw shocked and saddened both of them.

The central spire tipped over before the base of it snapped off from the rest of the Air Temple. The large tower crashed down into side of the mountain with a loud bang, encasing the side in a cloud of dust. That wasn't the only destruction though. The main part of the temple crumbled onto itself and pieces of it fell down the mountain. The sounds of destruction filled the air and a cloud of debris blocked the rest of the view from the couple riding on Appa.

Aang climbed up onto the saddle heavy hearted, seeing Katara still gazing in shock at the sight and he couldn't help but look back at it as well. He wish he hadn't though for when the cloud disappeared, there was hardly anything there. The Southern Air Temple was just gone, only tiny chunks of it had managed to stay clinging onto the mountainside and even some of those were starting to break off from the rocky surface.

Aang just sat back, not paying attention to the unconscious Tau that Katara had placed on the other side of the saddle. All he could think of was that his home was _gone_. He buried his head in his hands as he began to cry softly, not wanting to truly believe it but knowing that it couldn't be denied. He knew it had worked. It had stopped the Yanari's release, but he still felt guilty at destroying one of the few things that the Air Nomads had for a legacy. What would the other monks think of him? Gyatso?

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and he looked up to see Katara gazing at him sadly. For the first time, he noticed how battered she looked and he guessed that he probably looked the same but none of that mattered right now. He just needed her comfort. He fell into her waiting arms and buried his head into her shoulder as he continued to sob. She squeezed him gently and turned her head to place a soft kiss on his cheek but she knew that there was nothing else she could do to comfort him. She knew that she just had to be here for him, just as she always had, and when he clung to her tightly as if she was the only thing he had left; she couldn't help but let a few tears drip from her own eyes as well as she looked back to the empty mountain where the Southern Air Temple once stood.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so one more chapter left. Review and the last chapter will be up Wednesday.<strong>


	32. The End?

**Okay, so here is the last chapter of the fic...enjoy.**

**And as always, I still don't own Avatar**

* * *

><p>"What're you going to do with him?"<p>

General Howe turned his attention to Aang, who had asked the question. The Avatar had arrived back at Ba Sing Se just barely half an hour ago. At first Howe was going to have his guards arrest the Avatar and Katara but when he saw how battered they looked and when they revealed that they had Tau in custody with them, Howe decided against it. Instead, he welcomed them back, though he could tell that they weren't all that happy to see him. Still, he figured they could keep things respectable while they sorted recent events out in the middle of the courtyard in front of the palace.

"Tau will be taken care of," Howe answered Aang's question, "As you know, we converted Lake Laogai into a prison. He'll be taken there and believe me…he'll be there for a long time."

Aang and Katara looked off to the side where Tau was being led away by about half a dozen soldiers. Tau noticed them and glanced back. Katara wasn't sure if she was seeing things, but for a moment she could've sworn that she saw a look of respect flash across his face. Katara tilted her head towards him quizzically and he gave her a slight nod before the guards forced him to keep moving. She watched him go until he was out of site before turning back to Aang and Howe.

"Did you see that?" she asked Aang.

Aang nodded and shrugged, "You beat him, maybe he just respects you more now that you did that…as weird as that may sound."

"I guess," Katara said, curiously glancing back to where she had last seen Tau.

"We'll keep a close eye on him," Howe assured, "In the mean time, I thought you should know that we have a good idea on who Kuei's successor will be."

"Really?" Aang raised his eyebrows, "Who?"

Howe nodded, "He was one of Kuei's top advisor's after the war. He has what it takes to lead. His name is Tetsu. He is the most likely candidate and hopefully we can have a coronation in about a month or so."

"We'll stay here until then," Aang told him.

"That's all I ask for," Howe said and began to turn to leave before turning back, "And for what it's worth…you two did good."

Aang and Katara watched him go before she rolled her eyes, "Can you believe him? He treats us like trash and then he just plays nice?"

Aang merely shrugged and glanced at her, "At least he's willing to listen to us again."

"Yeah," Katara crossed her arms, "Well I'm not sure how much I'm willing to listen to him."

Aang sighed, "So there's a divide between him and us now. That's okay…we just can't let that affect other people. We need to work together, whether we like it or not."

"Well I'm sure the rest of the Council of Five is not too happy about it either," Katara stated, "They're probably still resentful at us as well."

"Then the feeling is mutual I guess," Aang smirked at her, "I…"

"YOU TWO ARE CRAZY!"

The couple turned to see Sokka and Suki running up to them.

"I mean, what where you two thinking!" Sokka continued once he reached them and then he jabbed a finger sharply into Aang's chest, "And if you just run off with my sister again then…"

"Sokka can't you just say you're glad we're all right and leave it at that," Katara stepped between him and Aang."

"Just let him rant," Suki jumped in, "He wouldn't shut up ever since you two left."

Sokka gave her an exasperated look before turning back to the couple in front of him, "Okay fine…look, I'm just saying that it would be nice to give us a heads up next time," he paused before giving Aang and Katara a hug, before pulling away from them again, "But I'm glad you're okay…though I guess you could look a little better."

Aang and Katara glanced down at themselves, forgetting how torn their cloths were. Katara had healed the numerous cuts that had covered her and Aang's body but the cloths were pretty much beyond repair. They definitely needed to clean up.

"Yeah, I guess it's time that we head back to the house," Aang smiled, taking Katara's hand, "I could use some rest."

"Yeah, well I just hope that you to didn't completely forgive Howe," Sokka stated as they began to walk back to their home, "That guy's an idiot."

"Oh, I'm far from forgiving him," Katara muttered.

"Can we just not talk about that?" Aang asked, "I don't need to be reminded that we're not exactly that popular with the Earth Kingdom government at the moment."

"Well they should be down on their knees thanking you right now," Sokka stated simply.

"You guys did stop Tau from releasing those Yanari things right?" Suki asked, giving Aang and Katara a worried glance.

Aang's face suddenly fell and he answered quietly, "Yeah, we did. I just hope it was worth it…"

Suki was about to ask what was wrong when Katara jumped in to explain, "He had to destroy the Air Temple," she said, giving Aang's hand a tight squeeze, "It's completely gone now."

Sokka and Suki's eyes both widened.

"Oh," Suki reached over to place a hand on Aang's shoulder, which proved to be a little awkward since they were walking, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Aang said, eyes to the ground, "It was the only way."

Sokka didn't say anything but he held sympathy for the young airbender. The Southern Air Temple was his home; destroying it was probably one of the hardest things he would ever have to do.

* * *

><p>Hakoda knocked quietly on his daughter's door, not wanting to disturb her if she was resting. He had heard that she and Aang had gotten back from the Southern Air Temple just a few hours ago and while he didn't exactly know what happened there, he knew it was probably exhausting for the young couple.<p>

However, when he heard Katara voice tell him to come in, he took a deep breath and opened the door. He needed to talk to her to clear things up, even if he knew that she wouldn't like everything he said. He walked in and closed the door behind him before turning back around and seeing her combing her hair while looking in a mirror located in the corner of the room. What surprised him though was what she was wearing. She wasn't wearing her typical watertribe clothing; instead she was wearing what looked to be air nomad cloths.

"Where'd you get those?"

She suddenly turned around and gazed at him, obviously not expecting him to be the one to be coming into her room. She was probably expecting Aang. Hakoda briefly wondered where the young Avatar was before Katara spoke up as she turned back around to finish combing her hair.

"Aang got it for me on my birthday," she answered simply, not bothering to elaborate anymore.

Hakoda sighed, deciding to just get it over with, "Katara, we need to talk."

Katara stopped what she was doing and turned back around to look at him. She just stared for a few moments before she set the brush on the nearby dresser and sat down on her bed, looking down at her lap.

"There's nothing to talk about," she muttered.

"Yes there is," Hakoda answered, cautiously moving to sit beside her. He let out a breath of relief when his daughter didn't move away from him.

Still, she turned her head away from him and murmured softly, "No, there isn't."

"Katara, just hear my side of things," Hakoda requested gently, putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder only to have her shrug it off, "Look, if you still want to be mad at me afterwards than I won't bother you anymore."

She just turned her head slightly so she could look at him out of the corner of her eye and Hakoda quickly realized that she was waiting for him to speak.

"I won't lie to you," Hakoda started, "What Tau told you was probably the truth."

Katara gaze suddenly shifted directly at him and he could tell that he already nudged her the wrong way. However, he forced himself to continue speaking.

"You have to understand though that at the time I had only been the leader of our tribe for a couple of years. I was relatively new to the whole thing and in hindsight, taking the warriors from our tribe and going off to fight in the war for a few months probably wasn't the best idea. I left you, your brother, and your mother behind for months and it is something that I regret doing. If I could go back, I'd do things differently."

"Yeah, well you didn't did you," Katara stated coldly.

"I made a mistake," Hakoda closed his eyes briefly before looking at her, "And Tau…I knew him pretty well so I was very surprised when he told me that he was a Waterbender…and a powerful one at that. As I said before, I was new and inexperienced so most of my plans just relied on him doing everything, and he was able to. He didn't even need me or the other warriors. He could take on a group of firebenders without any difficulty and I suppose that was why I had sent him to defend that bridge at the battle of Honlu."

Katara instantly perked up for she knew this was where the events that led to her mother's death had all started and it was a reaction that Hakoda noticed.

"It was never my intention to leave him behind," he continued, "But the city was being overrun faster than we thought it would and it was too risky to go back to help him. If I had gone back with the other warriors to help him, it is possible that none of us would have ever returned to the Southern Watertribe."

"That didn't stop Tau from trying to do what you asked of him though," Katara pointed out, looking away from him, "He defended the city for as long as he could. He trusted you to come back for him, and you just abandoned him. You're a…"

"Coward," Hakoda interrupted causing her to look back at him in surprise, "I know."

Katara just started at him, eyes wide and Hakoda could tell that she was shocked that he had admitted it. He knew it wasn't what she was expecting.

"All I could think about at the time was getting back to you and the rest of our family," Hakoda told her, "I was a different man back then. It was a moment of weakness and it is one of the things that I regret doing most in my life. For years afterwards, that memory and the guilt would come back to haunt me. It wasn't until after your mother's death did I forget about it…it was replaced by the agony I felt at the loss of her…"

Katara eyed him for a few moments before asking him softly, "And you know why she was killed right? You knew who the Southern Raider's source was?"

"I didn't know for sure but I had my suspicions," Hakoda shrugged, "I believed Tau to be dead. I didn't want to believe that he had helped the Fire Nation in an attempt to get back at me for what I did," Hakoda finally looked away from her, not feeling comfortable looking at her when he said what he said next, "I admit it, your mother's death was my fault. I was the one that set everything in motion and consequently, that also led to everything that has happened during the past few months. If Tau was never in prison, then he never would have heard about the Yanari and none of this would have happened."

He paused for a few moments before looking back at his daughter, who was gazing at him intently, "If you don't want to forgive me then I understand. I don't expect you to. I just wanted you to hear it from my point of view."

Both of them were quite after that, neither knowing what to say. Hakoda wanted to give her time to make up her mind and she wasn't sure what to think of it. Hakoda didn't know how long they sat in silence but he suspected his daughter's silence meant that she didn't want to have anything to do with him. As he started to get up, he was surprised when she suddenly leaped up and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Though he was surprised, he hugged her back and she finally spoke.

"I understand…I forgive you," she told him, pulling away and looking at the floor sadly, "It's what mom wanted…"

Hakoda tilted his head and raised an eyebrow before Katara quickly elaborated, "It still confuses me but when I was unconscious at the Air Temple she visited me and we talked…"

She drew off and Hakoda hugged her once again to comfort her, "You'll see her again…we both will."

"I know," Katara pulled away, wiping a few unshed tears from her eyes before smiling at him, "But in the mean time I still have a place here. Aang needs me and I need him."

"You should probably go find him then," Hakoda nodded in the direction of the door, "Sokka told me what happened."

Katara smiled and began to walk out of the room to search for her boyfriend when her father's voice stopped her.

"By the way," he said, "That outfit suits you. You should try to get some copies made."

Katara turned to him and muttered a quiet thanks as a blush rose to her cheeks. She turned back around to walk out of the house with her father's suggestion in her mind. Maybe it was something to consider…

* * *

><p>Aang sat in the grass on top of the hill in the middle rings park. He was sitting under the tree that stood on top of it, letting the shade block him from the suns bright light. The park wasn't crowded today; it was actually rather peaceful, and peace was what he needed at the moment.<p>

He felt terrible, emotionally and physically. Despite Katara's healing, his whole body still felt sore all over, not to mention he felt rather weak from all the blood he had lost. That wasn't as bad as what he was feeling emotionally though. He didn't even know how to describe it. What was he supposed to feel after destroying a sacred place, a remnant of the Air Nomads…his own home? Whatever it was, Aang didn't like the feeling. It made his heart ache in his chest and it made his whole body feel numb.

He sat back against the tree stump and closed his eyes, wanting to wash away the memories from the past few months. He found himself unable to do it though. Destroying his home, fighting Katara, nearly dying in the desert…those were things that he would be remembering for the rest of his life.

Suddenly, he heard some footsteps come up beside him and he opened one eye to see who it was. It was Katara, staring down at him with a sympathetic look on her face. He couldn't help but notice that she was wearing the air nomad clothes he had gotten her as well and that put a small smile on his face. She sat down next to him, taking him into her arms wordlessly and allowing him to bury his head into her neck. She didn't need to ask him what was wrong, she already knew. All she needed to do was to be here for him and if he decided that he needed to talk, then she would be here to listen.

He stayed still in her arms for several minutes, before shifting to rest his chin on top of her shoulder and speaking softly, "I just hope what I did was worth it. What would the monks think of me?"

"They'll understand Aang," Katara told him quietly, "You did what you needed to do."

"I know…I just," he sighed, pulling away to look at her skeptically, "What if the whole Yanari thing was exaggerated. What then? The Southern Air Temple would have been destroyed for nothing."

"Well we don't think that," Katara replied, grasping his hands in hers, "We may never know if any of it is true or not but you even told Howe yourself, it's not a risk we can take. You think about what ifs too much. Just be happy that we stopped it. I know the cost was great, especially for you, but sometimes that is what is necessary and as much as you may hate to hear it, you'll probably have to make a similar decision again eventually."

"I guess," Aang shrugged.

Katara could tell he was a bit unsure still, that he was still feeling guilty about it, but that was expected. She knew her words wouldn't just solve everything completely. Still, she felt like she needed to take his mind off of it. She gave him a soft smile before leaning forwards to place a soft kiss on his lips. He leaned into it, his hands grasping hers a little tighter before he suddenly pulled away.

"What is it Aang?" Katara tilted her head in confusion.

"I…" he let go of her hands and began twiddling his thumbs, "How much of your brainwashing to do you remember?"

The question caught Katara by surprise and it took her a few moments to answer as she looked away from him.

"Not much," she said, watching her hand as it started to draw circles into the grass, "I mostly just remember almost killing you."

The smile that was on her face turned into a frown and Aang reached out to take her hands in his once again in reassurance.

"Do you remember what you said to me," Aang asked her, "About your mother?"

Katara turned her head up towards him wide eyed before letting them fall to the ground once again and answering meekly, "Yes."

"Did you mean it?"

Katara looked back up at him, eyes full of denial, "Of course not Aang. I don't blame her death on you at all. What I said…it was just Tau speaking through me. Please don't think I blame you for it."

"So you're not mad at me about it then?" Aang asked a little unsurely.

"No," Katara shook her head, leaning over to kiss his cheek before pulling back and adding, "In fact, it's quite the opposite."

Aang raised his eyebrows at her in confusion and Katara gave him a wide smile.

"It's because of you that I was able to see her again," she explained.

"What?" Aang eyes widened, his body moving back a little in shock, "How?"

"It was when I was fighting Tau," Katara explained, looking off to the horizon as the memory flashed before her, "He had knocked me unconscious and my mother used our connection to reach out to me…and we talked. It gave me the strength to come back and beat Tau. I just wish I could speak to her again…"

Aang smiled at her, his heart warming from her brief story before he hugged her again, "Maybe we can find a way to get you to speak with her again. After all, I don't think we really know everything that our connection can do yet."

"Yeah," Katara agreed hopefully, "You're right."

They held each other for several minutes before Katara pulled away from him, looking like she wanted to speak. Aang nodded at her to let her know he was listening.

"And there was something she told me to," Katara smiled, "About my place in this world."

"And what was that?" Aang raised his eyebrows.

"She said my destiny was to help you with your own," Katara said, looking at him shyly through her lashes, "And that just as you need to protect the world, I need to protect you."

Aang looked at her with a large grin on his face and his eyes twinkling, "I like that sound of that."

Katara laughed, "Well I hope so, because you're stuck with me."

With that she lunged at him, crashing her lips down onto his and feeling his arms come around her. Everything else was forgotten at the moment. Recent events didn't plague their minds and the only thing they thought about was each other and what the future held for them.

And they wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

><p>Shyalum was an old spirit. He had been there since the beginning. He was the creator after all. Everything was by his design and his own place of solitude showed that. His lair was located high up above the rest of the spirit world, letting all the other spirits know of his superiority. No spirit was up here unless he allowed them to and that meant he was unreachable. He knew the humans saw the spirits as divine figures and that was how the rest of the spirits saw him. His home floated above anything and everything. It didn't have any definite shape. It was whatever Shyalum wanted it to be at the time. Sometimes it was a castle, sometimes it was a peaceful city of clouds, and sometimes it was just an empty space. Right now, it was something that would resemble a human throne room and it was all inaccessible to anything else. No other spirit could get up here into his sanctuary.<p>

Shyalum's spirit took the form of a dragon like creature. It hadn't always been the form he used but ever since the dragon's, his own creations, were made nearly extinct decades ago; he decided to take the form of them so they could still live through him. His new form reminded the other spirits of what humans were capable of doing and it also gave off a sense of power and intimidation. No spirit would ever question him but it was still nice to have that affect on them.

Still, despite being all knowing and despite the power he held, he still held ignorance inside of him. He had been safe up in his sanctuary for too long and as long as he was here, he kept his guard down. Because of that, he didn't notice anything up in the ceiling above him.

He didn't notice a lone black figure perched up there hidden in a far corner, its tentacles wrapping around some crevices to hold it in its place.

And he didn't notice the figure's red eyes watching his every move; studying him intently while it waited for the right moment to strike…

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so yeah, its kind of a cliffhanger ending. I know some people will hate me for that but...it sets up the next fic, which I will talk about in just a moment. Anyways, when I first started this, I didn't think it would be as well received as it is<strong>. **I didn't think people would like Tau or his companions or the Yanari...or any of that original stuff. Turns out that people seemed to love Tau though. I even had one user message me saying that they enjoyed reading about him more then they did reading about Katara and Aang**. **So thank you for supporting the fic! I appreciate every last one of you!:)**

**Now, as I promised, information on the sequels. I'll focus on the second one. The next fic will be titled 'Avatar: Reemergence'. It and the 3rd fic will also be rated M...for lemons...and for a few scenes that I am still debating about including. Obviously the lemons will be Kataang. If anyone has a problem with the M rating, message me. The rating won't change but I should be able to find away to make it easier for people to skip over the M rated parts if they are uncomfortable reading them. I don't want the M rating to limit the people reading the sequels.**

**As for the plot...I would think that if you read all of this fic and the ending and the title for the next fic...then you should be able to have a small idea of what the plot will be**. **I'm not going to get into it to much but I will also say that there will be a flashback story running alongside the present day one that details Tau's past. So for those of you that like Tau, that is something to look forwards to.**

**Now here comes the part where people will rage at me. Don't expect the next fic to start in a week or anything. I spent about 6 months straight on this fic with at least weekly updates so I need a small break. I also want to be able to write at least about 5 chapters of the fic before I post it so I can start the fic with the Monday/Thursday updates instead of just starting with once a week updates. So...I would say a month for me to have a break and another month for me to start writing it. Honestly, don't expect 'Avatar: Reemergence' to start until late November. I eventually will have more information on my profile on when I am going to start posting it but right now, that is the best estimate I can give you. Sorry to those people that were under the impression that I was going to start the fic next week but it is how it is. **

**Anyways, in the mean time, I MIGHT write one oneshot that takes place in between the two fics. But that is a maybe...**

**On a final note, I have some fun facts about this fic that should be on my profile by the time you all read this. So check it out if you want.**

**If you have any requests on things you want to see happen in the next fic, tell me. I can't promise that I will do it but I will consider anything. **

**So long for now, and be on the look out for 'Avatar: Reemergence' in the coming months.:)  
><strong>


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